Zero no Esper
by PandaBSA
Summary: He was supposed to be dead. She didn't expect a human familiar. But let's be honest, when do people ever get what they want? One of my OC from their own story I'm working on. First Fanfic so genres are a guess at this point, if I end up off the mark let me know.
1. Chapter 1

2 years…

It had been two years since he had embarked on his quest for revenge.

And there he lay… in a pool of his own blood.

But not just his blood; it was also the blood of the subject of his revenge.

The one who caused all the misery he, and everyone around him, had suffered.

He was there too, lying next to each other… dying.

As the world around him darkened his last thoughts ran through his head.

The entirety of his short life, all the choices he made, his friends, family… _her._

Everything was normal.

What happened?

* * *

"Well, is that everyone?" the professor called out. Though he was a professor he look more the part of a monk.

The group of students he was addressing looked around at each other, everyone knew that there was only one person left they all knew, but no one in their right mind would say it… they were afraid.

One student wasn't however.

"No, there's still Ms. Valliére" called out a very seductive looking redhead kneeling next to a similarly red lizard the size of a large dog.

The young lady in question was trying her best to hide behind the other students but with her being called out by name there was no point.

The girl stepped out from the crowd, her strawberry blond hair swaying in the slight breeze.

She stood there trying her best to gather her nerve, it was hard though, she could hear the other students whispering.

"It's Louise the Zero."

"What is she going to summon?"

"There's no way she'll summon anything. Another explosion and it'll be done."

The same redhead from before called out to her "Since you put such display of vanity, I'm sure you'll summon something more amazing than this one," she said gesturing her lizard "right Louise?"

"Of course!" the pink haired girl named Louise quickly retorted.

_Damn them_ she thought, _I'll show them_

But she was desperate, all her spells ended in failure.

If she couldn't pull off this summoning then… she didn't want to think about it.

Instead she held her confident façade as she prepared to begin.

_Please…_ she wished to herself.

"To my servant that exists somewhere within the ends of the Universe!" she began her spell

"What kind of spell is that?" whispered a blond girl in the crowd

"Well, well, at least it has some individuality…" responded a scrawny boy with equally blond hair.

Louise continued "To the holy, beautiful, and above most powerful familiar,"

The spell drew the attention of a short blue haired girl whose had previously had her nose in a book.

"I appeal to you from my heart as I chant, Answer my guidance!" Louise finished her spell then quickly flicked her raise wand down in front of her.

…

…

*BOOM*

A large explosion rocked the courtyard they were standing in.

As the smoke was clearing one boy grumbled to himself "So, it will come to this after all…"

The blond boy from earlier let out a cough then kneeled down to check on the blond girl

"Are you all right, Montmorency?" he asked

The girl, Montmorency, just stared blankly away from him.

"What's the matter?" he asked confused at why she was ignoring him.

She silently raised her hand and pointed toward Louise.

Louise was standing silently above a figure lying on the ground at her feet.

"A human?!" someone called out. Indeed the figure was a human, a human boy to be precise.

He appeared to be unconscious.

"No matter how you look at it, he's just a commoner" Someone else mentioned.

"Yes, a commoner, no doubt" another said.

Louise, with an almost painful expression mixed with disgust, whispered to herself "This… this… is my holy, beautiful, and above most powerful…"

Then she notice that his eyes with partially open, staring blankly at her.

It felt weird and she was going to mention it, then she saw the blood; and the open wounds covering his body releasing more of the life essence.

"MR. COLBERT!" she screamed.

Mr. Colbert, the professor running the summoning, ran over to see what was going on.

When he saw the blood he yelled out at the students "EVERYBODY GO BACK TO YOUR DORMS NOW!" he cast a quick levitation spell on the boy's body, then turned to Louise "You, come with me to the nurse's wing immediately!"

* * *

To say it was a close one would be an understatement.

It took all of the medical staff and many of the student water mages working all of three days, but they did it, they saved her familiar.

Louise was sitting in the headmaster's office waiting silently.

God, she blew it didn't she?

She summoned a commoner as a familiar, and worse yet she'd nearly killed it.

She was a terrible excuse for a mage.

She looked up at the headmaster who sat just as silently with his eyes closed and his elbows resting on the edge of his desk, hands covering his mouth.

The headmaster's secretary stood next to him with a stern expression on her face.

She looked over at Mr. Colbert who was standing in the corner of the office with an equally stern expression.

This was it, she was expelled. Failed to be sent home to her angry family. Her career as a mage over just as it was beginning.

She held her breath when the headmaster's eyes suddenly opened and locked on hers, holding her gaze.

"Mr. Colbert" he said in his aged voice.

"Yes Mr. Osman?" he answered.

"The wounds on the boy's body, they were fatal were they not?" Osman asked.

"Yes sir" he answered.

"I see, it's a miracle he survived. Still proper action must be taken for this incident."

Louise flinched.

"However, according to the nurse's report, the wounds were caused by burns. Tell me, do Louise's explosions include flames Mr. Colbert?"

"N-no sir"

"Ms. Longueville?" the headmaster addressed his secretary.

"I'm new here sir and do not know Ms Valliére well, however from what I understand, no. Her _accidents_ do not cause flame." She answered.

"I see…" Osman let out a sigh. "Ms Valliére,"

Louise jerked to attention. "Y-yes s-sir?"

"Lucky you are that he survived, it seems that his injuries were not cause by your summoning spell. It seems that you will not be expelled."

Louise let out a sigh and visibly relaxed.

"However!" Osman continued strictly "You will continue to attend class as scheduled until your familiar awakes. You will then ensure the recovery of your familiar, and take care of him; during this time you will be exempt from class. When he has made a full recovery you will then complete the familiar ceremony. Understood?"

"Y-yes sir" Louise answered.

"Good, you may return to your dorm."

She stood up and walked toward the door, her body shaking from the stress she just went through. Just as she was about to leave the office.

"Oh, and Ms. Valliére." The headmaster called out.

"Yes Mr. Osman?"

"Lighten up a bit, at least you didn't fail at summoning a familiar." He said, letting out a large smile from under his long white beard.

A small smile appeared on Louise's face, "Yeah" she said.

For the first time in her life one of her spells didn't fail, even if the result was almost dead.

* * *

The next day was the second worse day in her life.

The first of which was when her sister, Eleonore, had tried to take her magical training into her own hands before Lousie was sent to Tristain's Magical Academy.

God, those memories still gave her nightmares, not that she'd tell anyone.

Still this came close, with all the glares and jeers she was getting from her fellow students.

Everyone was asking her if she'd really killed her familiar.

Of course she told them all she didn't, but they kept whispering.

The rumors were spreading like a fire to rival-

"Louise, did you really almost kill your familiar?!"

Speak of the devil.

The same redhead from the summoning ceremony shouted out as she entered the classroom.

"For the last time Kirche, I did not kill nor cause harm to my familiar. The headmaster determined that it's injuries were not caused by my summoning spell." Louise answered back with annoyance.

"Really… hmm, well you had better get things under control, the whole school thinks you kill him." Kirche said before returning to her seat.

Louise sighed, she really hated that Zerbst girl. She just couldn't leave her alone, ever since she'd entered this school it seemed that Kirche and her had been rivals.

And boy did she know how to push her buttons, now all the effort she went through to get the class to stop talking about her familiar was wasted as the conversations started up anew.

Damn it.

Well, if one good thing came out of this it was that students had stopped calling her Zero, though it was mostly out of fear. How long it would last she didn't know, but she owed the headmaster a thank you for letting everyone know that she had succeeded at one spell.

But was it worth it?

* * *

**AN:**

**Dear Readers,**

**Being my first time I don't know what to think of this.**

**I've always wanted to take up writing but school life gets in the way.**

**Me and my friends are really into anime and this anime is my favorite, so I decided to write a story for this as practice.**

**Let me know what you think, any tips and suggestions will be helpful.**

**Thank you.**

**Sincerely,**

**Blegh**


	2. Chapter 2

It was five days later that her Familiar awoke.

It had only been three days before the Zero nickname caught on again.

Sometime on day two she heard that Guiche got caught by a first year he was presumably dating, Katie was it?, out with Montmorency during the second year's day off to get to know their familiars.

Both girls had slapped the swag right out of the boy, but not his pride as he still gave a nearby maid a hard time afterward.

Not that she cared; as for her she had spent the day in her room, her shame at not having her familiar present preventing her from going out that day.

But still, when the nurse burst into the room interrupting Mr. Colbert's class Louise couldn't help but hold her breath.

After the nurse whispered something in the professor's ear he turned toward the class.

"Ms. Valliére" he called out.

The whole room's attention shifted to her. "Yes?"

"Come with me, the rest of you will stay where you are and review what we have learned so far"

Louise nervously stood up and followed the professor and the nurse out of the room.

The walk to the medical wing was a relatively short one but it felt like a mile walk to Louise.

Finally they reached the door, which the nurse swiftly pushed open for Mr. Colbert and her to walk in.

When she walked in she looked around, most of the beds where empty.

This is a good thing, after all injures would tarnish the Academy's reputation as a safe school for nobles.

Well, one bed was occupied.

Sitting up in the bed was Louise's familiar. Bandages were covering most of his body, and he was eating porage.

_Eatting porage? _She thought.

_Of course he'd be eating something, five days is a long time without food._

The nurses had been able to get him to take water while unconscious but food was a problem. So when he woke up they were quick to bring him something to eat.

He looked up from his meal to look at them. Louise got her first good look at her familiar.

He had black hair that fell down to his shoulders, the bangs almost covering his eyes.

When he looked at them his eyes peered out from under his bangs, they were a dull green.

She could be sure looking at him sitting but she was pretty sure he was tall, well taller than her at least.

_Damn_

He was probably as tall as Guiche, looked as scrawny as Guiche too.

After about a minute staring at each other he set his spoon back into the bowl and placed it on a nearby cart, probably brought in with the food by a maid.

With that Mr. Colbert let out a cough "Well, I suppose we should begin with introductions."

* * *

The last thing he remembered seeing was his own blood.

He had expected to die, to join _her_ in the afterlife.

So when he opened his eyes again to find himself in a bed in a strange place his initial reaction was to get up and figure out where he was, but mostly he wanted to know how he survived.

The pain put a quick end to that plan.

The grunt he let out caused a gasp to be heard from the other end of the room.

When he look there was a woman, a nurse perhaps based on her clothes, with a surprised expression.

She quickly ran over and helped him into a sitting position. Once that was done she left, to quickly return carrying a cup and followed by a maid pushing a cart with a bowl on it.

The nurse handed him the cup then left again. He looked in the cup, water.

The maid pushed the cart up to the side of his bed then bowed and went to stand by the door.

He looked over at the bowl while taking a sip of water, in it was… porage?

Quickly remembering his hunger he abandoned the water in favor of the porage.

Taking quick mouthfuls but slowing down after almost choking.

Things were silent for a few minutes while he ate his food.

Then footsteps could be heard outside the door, and suddenly it opened.

In walked… a monk? Followed shortly by a girl with strawberry blond hair, wearing what could only be a school uniform. The cape was a bit much though.

When he looked up at them his gaze couldn't help but lock with the girl's.

The silence that followed was very awkward indeed, with all of them just staring at each other.

Finally he set the bowl aside then the monk, girl, maid and nurse that had opened the door walked over to stand by his bed.

The monk let out a cough then said "Eh bien, je suppose que nous devrions commencer avec des introductions."

…

What?

What the hell did he just say? That wasn't Japanese… it sounded western.

His mother had made him study foreign language many years ago, damn, he wish he had stayed current on his lessons.

Noticing the confused expression on his face the monk asked him directly with a serious tone "Quel est votre nom?"

Was it French? It sounded familiar but the accent was off. Still, he was able to get "name" out of that last part. So they wanted his name did they, well from what he had learn about western culture, which he guessed this was, they introduced their first names before their family name.

He pointed at himself and said "Kiero… Ezaki"

They looked at him for a second; he thought he heard the maid say his name under her breath.

Then the monk spoke up "Votre nom est Kiero Ezaki? Eh bien, M. Ezaki, Mme Valliére, elle vous que son familier avait convoqué lorsque nous avons remarqué que vous étiez gravement blessé. Nous avons pris des mesures immédiates et vous a amené ici à l'aile médicale. Heureusement, vous avez fait une reprise, remercier le fondateur."

"Whoa whoa whoa, I don't speak French Mr." he quickly said waving his hands back and forth.

The monk looked at him strangely. It would appear that language would be a problem here.

* * *

God, she couldn't believe her familiar could be so stupid.

He couldn't even understand what they said, how barbaric was he?

She let out a sigh "Why did the Founder curse me with such a pathetic familiar?"

Louise was currently in her room, so she didn't have to worry about people hearing her.

The first meeting was a disaster; Mr. Colbert kept trying to communicate with the thing for an entire hour. Trying every language combination he could think of, Tristainian, Germanian, Gallian; even a bit of the Elf language. Nothing worked.

Finally the nurse shooed them out saying that he needed his rest.

She had to admit she herself was tired too.

She now lay on her large four poster bed provide by the Academy in her nightgown.

She thought about what Mr. Colbert had told her before he left, "We are unable to communicate with him, as he is your familiar the task falls upon you to teach him. Feel free to ask the librarian from any materials you may need. I'll go let her know about the situation now."

Damn, why was all this falling on her shoulders? She was a noble after all!

Why not let one of the servants handle it, they probably spoke the same barbaric language.

No, the Academy wouldn't allow itself to hire such uncivilized people.

God, it was so frustrating!

Starting tomorrow she'd no longer have to attend class, but from now on she was expected to visit her familiar and teach him their language.

She never taught anyone before, what was she going to do?

It was with these thoughts that she drifted off to sleep.

This was the first day she didn't want to get out of bed.

Before she had always wanted to maintain the proper air of a noble, waking on time to get to class and make a good impression to make up for her lack in magical ability.

But today she didn't have to attend class; she had to teach her familiar how to speak properly.

Louise let out a sigh and rolled out of bed.

Even if it was just a familiar she wouldn't let anyone see her without proper noble attire.

She decided to wear her school uniform since it was the easiest thing to put on.

Her uniform consisted of long black knee high stockings, with a similarly dark pleated skirt. Followed by a white long sleeved dress shirt, over which her noble's cape was adorned.

She brushed her hair, checked herself in the mirror then left for the medical wing.

On her way there she thought about all the ways she would go about teaching her familiar proper language.

When she got there however there was already talking coming from in the room.

Confused she walked into to find the maid from yesterday having a conversation with her familiar. An actual conversation.

That damn maid could understand him?!

Louise was about to explode in anger when she noticed the other person in the room besides the maid and the medical staff.

None other than the headmaster himself, Mr. Osman.

Louise quickly put herself in check, holding back her temper.

She walked over to stand next to Mr. Osman.

When she did he turned to her "Well well, good morning Ms. Valliére. As you can see we found someone who can somewhat understand this young man. Well, actually she came forward herself in my office yesterday. Apparently her great grandfather spoke a similar language and taught it to his family before he passed away; she said that he came from a land far to the east. Ms. Siesta is quite an interesting young woman isn't she?"

Not knowing what else to say she replied "Y-yes."

She then turned her attention to the maid and her familiar.

Their conversation was halting, it seemed that Siesta had to think about what she was saying and stumbled over words more often than not. Her familiar was speaking slowly as if to make sure the maid got every detail.

At some point he said something and the maid went ridged.

She then responded in a heated tone that made her familiar nervous.

What were they talking about?

This exchange took place over several minutes, with Louise and Osman waiting anxiously.

Finally the maid bowed to the familiar and turned to them.

"H-he said that his name is Kiero Ezaki" she said

Mr. Osman nodded "Yes yes, Mr. Colbert informed me that was the only thing he could determine yesterday. Anything else?"

"Yes, he says that…"

"Yes, what is it?"

"W-well, when I asked where he was from he began asking me where he was. When I told him he claimed to… to not be from this world."

"What!" both Louise and Osman exclaimed.

"That's what I thought," continued Siesta "I tried to get him to be serious about it but he kept insisting, claiming that there should be no such thing as two moons or a magical academy."

"Hmm… interesting, go inform Mr. Colbert about this." Siesta left, the headmaster then turned to a nearby nurse "How long before he is fit to leave the medical wing?"

"Well he should stay for a few more days to be safe. But if you insist he may leave as long as he stays in bed and eats plenty of food."

Osman then looked at Louise, his look asking her the obvious.

"N-no, I will not have a dirty familiar in my bed. He can stay here for all I care." She said, turning her head to the side. As she did she saw her familiar looking right at her.

"Very well," continued Osman "he shall stay here, but you will be required to come here with Ms. Siesta to help educate Mr. Ezaki here." With that the headmaster took leave.

Louise looked over at the maid. She and her familiar were glancing at each other.

Great, now she had to work with a servant, and she was falling behind on her lessons.

Why Founder?

* * *

After waking up to another helping of porage, Kiero wasn't surprised when the same maid from yesterday; this time followed by a man who looked every bit the part of wizened old wizard from western fantasies.

The maid came forward nervously looking between him and the old man.

Then to his surprise she began speaking halting Japanese "H-hello… um, are you… well?"

For a moment he was shocked, but then quickly responded "You can speak Japanese?!"

When she looked overwhelmed he repeated himself but slower "You can speak Japanese?"

She then gave a short nod "Y-yes… a little bit… my great grandfather taught my father… before he passed away… and my father taught me."

"Did you know your great grandfather well?"

"No… he passed away before… I was born."

…

"D-did you… come from the east… like my great grandfather?"

"Hmm?"

"W-well… you and he speak… the same language, so… I was wondering"

"Maybe… um, excuse me but I don't know your name."

"Oh, my name… is Siesta, I work here… as a maid."

Suddenly the door opened to reveal the pink haired girl from before.

She look at him and the maid, her face contorting in anger, but quickly calmed down when she noticed the old man. She then calmly walked to stand by the old man. He turned to her and said some things in that same language he didn't understand. What he could tell was that he was talking about him and the maid.

Then a thought crossed his mind "Excuse me, Siesta?"

"Y-yes?" she responded.

"Who are those two behind you?"

"Um… the elderly one… is the headmaster of this school, his… name is Mr. Osman. The other is… Ms. Louise Valliére, she's a… student here."

"I see, and the monk from yesterday?"

"H-he's not a… monk! He's a teacher here… his name is Mr. Colbert."

"Oh, he's a teacher, sorry. What does he teach?"

"He teaches… fire magic."

…

"Excuse me?"

"Mr. Colbert teaches fire magic."

"Um… Siesta, what kind of school is this?"

"This is the… Tristain's Magical… Academy."

"Tristain… Where are we?"

"U-um, we're at Tristain's Magical Academy… located in the small… country of Tristain… on the continent of… Halkeginia."

Kiero was quiet for a moment

Then "Ms. Siesta, how, may I ask, did I get here?"

"Ms. Valliére… summoned you here during the… springtime familiar… summoning ceremony."

"I see… a familiar huh?"

After another moment "Siesta, I don't know how to tell you this but… I'm not from this world."

Siesta stiffened.

"D-don't make… fun of me just… because I'm a servant!"

"I'm not"

"Please be serious, there's… no such thing as… multiple worlds."

"But there is"

"How can… I be sure you aren't… lying?"

"Well… I can't exactly prove it, but I know for a fact that where I come from there's only one moon, and mages don't exist."

"B-but that's… preposterous. A place with only one… moon and no mages… are you sure you're… not making fun of… me?"

"I swear it's the truth, your great grandfather probably came from the same place; though how he got here I'm not sure."

Siesta had a very sour look on her face "I-I'm sorry… I should go. It was… nice meeting you… Mr. Ezaki."

She gave a quick bow then turned to Mr. Osman and Louise, said some things then left rather quickly.

Mr. Osman then asked a nurse some questions but Kiero wasn't paying attention.

He was looking at the pink haired girl.

_Louise huh?_ So this girl was the reason why he had survived.

As much as he hated to admit it he owed this girl his life.

* * *

**AN**

**Dear Readers,**

**I just graduated yesterday after which I did the whole Senior Escape thing, so I feel as if I didn't update as soon as I could have.**

**Also, thanks to BeanCorn, A Certain Random Guy, and Mzr90 for your first reviews, I won't let you guys down.**

**For the second chapter I feel like I did alright, did a lot of reading back over it to make sure it ran smoothly.**

**Sincerely****,**

**Blegh**


	3. Chapter 3

The days that followed were _interesting_, to say the least.

Everyday Louise would go to the medical wing with Siesta.

Their efforts at teaching her familiar were going surprisingly well.

According to Siesta he had said that he had previous language lessons similar to their language, so it was mostly just refreshers they did.

After a week he could speak Tristainian almost as well as anyone else, though the accent didn't match.

He called it _French._

She'd never heard of such a thing.

What bothered her most though was during their lessons the maid and her familiar would go back into that barbaric language and completely ignore her!

She was a noble, not chopped liver! How dare they!

But just as she was about to complain and demand them to repeat themselves in a civilized tongue the maid would notice and they'd switch back to Tristainian.

The next day he was cleared by the nurse.

"Your clothes were a wreck so the headmaster asked some of the maids to repair them for you." The nurse said while gesturing to a pile of neatly folded clothes lying on the bed next to his.

At this he raised the blankets and looked underneath, raising an eyebrow as he did.

This caused a small blush to creep across the maid's face Louise noticed.

But Louise was having other thoughts.

_Could he really be that stupid as to not notice his own lack of clothes?!_

The nurse closed the bedside curtain so he could change in privacy.

When her familiar opened the curtains he looked even weirder than before.

He was dressed in a sweater that was black on the shoulders and arms with white below that, it looked worn. His leggings were blue and made of an unknown material, and his shoes, his shoes! They were held on by strings, not buckles like most of the shoes and boots in Halkeginia were. Plus they looked strange.

Overall the entire outfit made her familiar look like a clown.

The nurse asked her to sign some documents for her familiar's release.

Mr. Colbert walked in at that time saying that the headmaster would like to see them.

That's how Louise found herself and her familiar in Mr. Osman's office.

* * *

"So, your name is Kiero is it?" asked Mr. Osman

They were alone in the headmaster's office, Ms. Longueville and Mr. Colbert having been dismissed.

"It is" Kiero responded

"And you say you're not from this world?"

"Yes"

"And there's no such thing as magic or mages in your world, as well as only one moon?"

After a pause "Well I might have stretched the truth on not being any magic sir."

"Hah!" Louise bolted up "You lied, he's lying Mr. Osman! There's no such thing as another world!"

"Ms. Valliére, please refrain from interrupting Mr. Kiero's story."

Louise quieted at this and sat back down in the chair provided for her by Ms. Longueville.

Mr. Osman then turned back to her familiar who was sitting in a chair next the her.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, magic does exist in my world, but very rarely. Less than 1% of the people in my world even know it exists and fewer still are able to use it. Them being either part of a family with a magical history or somehow gaining it through other means."

"If what you say is true are you able to use magic?"

In response her familiar simply pointed at the lamp sitting on Ms. Longueville's desk, which promptly began floating in the air.

Louise was in a panic.

_Oh Founder, did I summon a member of a noble family? Even if he is from another world it is inexcusable of me to kidnap a noble!_

"Interesting," Mr. Osman said, a slightly surprised look on his face "tell me, you are able to cast magic without a wand or staff and without saying an incantation, how is that?"

The lamp settled back on the desk and her familiar continued.

"Magic works differently in my world, and we don't really call it magic or those who use it mages either."

"Hmm… what do you call it then?"

"What you call magic we call Psychic Energy, or Psynergy for short; and those who use it are called Espers."

"Interesting, and how are you able to use… psynergy, without a wand or incantations?"

"As I said, my world's psynergy works differently than your world's magic. While you may need a wand and words to cast your spells, I only have to think and will it to happen. That goes for all the espers of my world."

"Very interesting, to know that there are people out there that can use magic without wands or incantations… would it be possible for one of us to be able to learn such a skill?"

"I don't know, this is the first time I've met anyone who is able to use magic that wasn't an esper from my world. It could be possible, I don't know."

"I see, it could be worth looking into then. So, are you part of a noble family?"

"Excuse me?"

"Sorry, here any families who are able to use magic are considered noble families. I just assumed that it was the same for your world as well."

"No on both occasions, the nobility system was abandoned a long time ago in my world and I am not part of a magical family."

Louise, who had been getting more anxious by the second over possibly summoning a noble, visibly relaxed in her seat. But what he said only raised more questions in her head.

"What do you mean you abandoned nobility, how could the commoners survive without nobility to guide them?!" she spoke up.

"The people didn't like the way nobility held their power of them like a weapon, to silence anyone who stepped out of line. As the people greatly outnumbered the nobility by thousands of times, they revolted and stripped the nobility of their power."

"But if the commoners did that then, who would lead them?!" Louise asked.

"They learned to guide themselves, each country setting up a system for leading their people."

The mere idea was foreign to Louise, that commoners could revolt against and even strip nobility of its god given power. It was blasphemy!

Now Mr. Osman spoke up "A society run by commoners is interesting and all, and I will ask for more details later, but I must know. If you are not part of a magical family how are you able to use magic?"

"I said there are two ways people can have magical powers in my world, they are either born with it as part of a magical family, or they may gain it through other means. Which is the category I fall under."

"What means did you take, if I may ask?"

Her familiar was silent for a long while, until he finally began speaking again.

"I was… injured at a young age."

"I see, what kind of injury may I ask, or is that asking too much?"

When no answer was forthcoming Mr. Osman let out a sigh.

"Very well, I would then like to ask how you came to be so injured before you were summoned by Ms. Valliére."

"I… had gotten into a fight that I… didn't plan on living through."

"A fight against who?"

"His name was Leo… Leo Ebonheart."

"Only one person?"

"Well I had chased him for 2 years, fighting people he had hired along the way. But when I fought him it was alone yes."

"How old are you?"

"I'm 19 years of age"

"That's quite young for someone to simply throw their life away."

"I didn't have any reason for living; Leo had taken everything important from me. So I had no will to live once I had found my revenge against him."

"Revenge is a dark path to walk young one, what did he take from you to seek such vengeance?"

"My reasons are my own."

"… Very well and how was he able to do so much damage to you? You were on death's door when you appeared."

"Leo was a very powerful pyromancer, in fact he was one of the strongest espers on the planet. Which was why he was able to hire so many others, that and he was part of one of the few surviving noble families."

"You keep referring to this Leo with 'was', what happened?"

"I killed him; we were lying next to each other bleeding to death. That was the last I saw him before I wound up here."

"You must be very powerful if you were able to defeat, as you said, one of the strongest."

"To be honest I don't know how I did it. My powers had no defense against him, I am able to control physical matter but energy based things like fire I cannot. I was near to being defeated when I suddenly blacked out. When I woke again I was lying next to him, both of us dying. I… I have no memory of what happened."

"I see… well I think I've heard enough for now. I think we should keep this information to ourselves. Knowledge of another world may cause some unrest if word got out."

Her familiar nodded.

"Thank you for telling me as much as you did Mr. Kiero. Ms. Valliére."

Louise perked up "Yes?!"

"You and Mr. Kiero have yet to complete the familiar contract, am I correct?"

"Y-yes sir."

"Please be sure to do so shortly, I know that you have been falling behind on your lessons and would like you to return to them as soon as the contract is complete. And Mr. Kiero."

"Yes?"

"Please remember, even though you wanted to through you life away God and the Founder have other plans for you. Ms. Valliére here saved your life, whether you wanted her to or not. It is your obligation to return that kindness, you owe her your life after all."

"Yes… sir." Her familiar said with a stern look on his face.

"Good, you may take your leave."

* * *

The walk back to her room was done in silence.

He was more interested in looking around as he followed her, and she wouldn't stoop as low as to have a civilized conversation with a familiar. Wait… he wasn't her familiar yet. They still had to complete the contract.

…

It could wait.

As for now they had reached Louise's dorm room. Normally a boy wasn't allowed in the girls dorms after curfew but as he would be her familiar and didn't have any other place to stay the headmaster made an exception.

When they entered her familiar took an even more interested look around. Examining every corner and piece of furniture in the room, until his gaze fell upon the _only_ bed.

"Um… Ms. Valliri?"

"It's _Valliére_! How dare you insult me, a noble, like that! Get the name right."

"Right, Ms. Valliére. There is only one bed in here and I assume, based on your attitude toward me, that we will not be sharing it."

"Absolutely; I would never share my bed with you. Even if you can speak a civilized tongue and use magic you are just a lowly familiar to me! Your bed is right there."

Louise pointed to a pile of hay in the corner by the bed.

"Uh, right. Do you happen to have an extra blanket I could use?"

"The servants change the beds so you will have to have one of them. For tonight you'll have to make do without."

"Okay then." He said, sounding a little disappointed.

He then went over and sat on the hay pile.

Looking up at her he asked "So what's this about a familiar contract, Mr. Osman said before we left his office that you-er, we had to complete it."

_Damn, he brought it up_

"It's just a bit of formality that marks you as my servant for life. It is unnecessary at this time so forget it okay?!"

"Okay"

_Whew, dodged a fireball there. To think I'll have to kiss this barbaric familiar… why should I care? It's just a familiar. Right then, time for bed._

Louise then walked over to her dresser and began disrobing.

When she had finished changing into her nightgown she turned back to find her familiar staring at her, eyebrow twitching and mouth failing to make sounds.

Finally " U-um, why d-did you change in front of me? I-I'm a guy!"

As if lecturing a child she responded "You're just a familiar, no different than any rock or tree. Who would care about changing in front of a rock or tree?"

"Well just let me know next time so I can turn around. Even if you're not freaked out by it I still am."

"Whatever, just make sure you wash these before tomorrow." She said, throwing her laundry at him.

He caught them with his hands.

"Hey, familiar."

"Yes, what is it?"

"If you can just move stuff with a thought couldn't you have done that with my clothes instead of using your filthy hands?"

"Yeah, but what's the fun of that? If you used magic for everything life would get boring fast."

"Whatever, just wash those ok, now I'm going to bed so keep quiet."

With that Louise snapped her fingers, causing the lamp to go out, and climbed into her bed.

* * *

Kiero sat there for a while, in the dark.

The moons sending light through the window to illuminate Louise's sleeping form.

This girl was a pain. Normally he just got headaches when he used psynergy too much, but every time this girl opened her mouth he felt one coming on.

Still, he knew her type; expecting her servants to follow her every order. He would have to break that habit if he wanted to avoid those headaches for the rest of his life, but for now he would play the part of willing servant.

…

The rest of his life huh…

He looked through the window up at the moons.

He didn't think there would be a rest of his life, he had expected it all to end with Leo.

Now here he was, alive and well, on an unknown planet filled with magic and mages owing his life to a little girl who probably grew up with a golden spoon in her mouth.

Great, would his suffering every end?

He got up and carried the laundry with him out the door.

As he was walking down the hallway he heard some noises coming from behind a door a short ways away from Louise's room.

When he got close he pressed his ear against the door.

Realizing what the sounds were from a blush quickly spread across his face and he made quick time down the rest of the hall.

He didn't know where the servant's quarters were so when he got to the main courtyard he went to the first fountain he saw.

Looking at it he knew this was going to be cold.

"Ah well…" he sighed.

Then as quickly as he could he began to scrub Louise's clothes.

As he worked he let his mind wander to his home world.

_I wonder how my sister is doing…. _

_She'll be fine; she has others who will take care of her. I haven't seen them in a long time and last they knew I was chasing Leo. So they probably won't be looking for me on different planet._

He took a short break to warm his hands and was looking up at the moons.

They just drew one's attention to them, or maybe it was that he wasn't used to there being two of them.

A new world, new people, new places…

This was going to be interesting.

* * *

The next day started as awkwardly as the previous one had ended.

Kiero was having a nice dream for once where one of his friends had stolen another's muffin and she was chasing him all around the house….

When he was suddenly knocked awake by flying objects.

Louise was throwing things at him screaming something about incompetent he was and that he should have known to wake her just after sunrise not half to noon.

After the third or fourth object her tantrum was rendered useless. You couldn't exactly hurt something you couldn't hit.

After she had calmed down she began to lecture him.

"A servant should always wake before their master and be sure to wake them in time for the day's activities. Now, thanks to your incompetence, I am late for class."

"Well sorry," Kiero began sarcastically "you didn't exactly inform me of my responsibilities as a familiar."

"It should be quite obvious, whenever there is a servant available-"

Whatever she was about to say was lost when he interrupted her.

"I believe I told you yesterday that I come from a place without nobles or servants. As such it is _not_ obvious to me what a servant should or should not do. Now please enlighten me so I may not disappoint you again."

Louise glared at him for interrupting.

"As my familiar you will wake me every day for class."

"Understood"

"You will dress me."

"Now, about that request-"

This time Louise interrupted.

"If you don't then I won't feed you."

"… Fine then, what else?"

"You will make my bed and wash my clothes."

"Anything else?"

"For now, that's all I'd expect such an incompetent familiar to be able to do."

With that Louise had him quickly help her dress, and both of them ran off to class.

Just as they left the room the same door Kiero had heard noises from opened and out stepped a red hair girl taller than Louise and much, _much_ more endowed. She had relatively tan skin that gave her a foreign look.

"Good _morning_, Louise."

"Good morning… Kirche. Shouldn't you be in class right now?"

Grinning back Kirche answered "Yes, but unlike _someone_, I've been keeping up on my lesson's so missing one class won't hurt my grades much. What about you, Louise?"

"I had a _problem_ to take care of." Louise said, sending a glare at Kiero.

"Ooh, who might this be?" Kirche said, walking up to Kiero "Is this the commoner you summoned? He certainly looks… interesting"

"Stay away from him, he's my familiar. He may be incompetent but I will not allow a Zerbst to take anything of a Valliére's, not one thing!"

At being called incompetent again Kiero glared at Louise.

Kirche continued "Well hopefully he turns out to be a proper familiar like Flame here. Oh Flame!"

At being called a large dog sized reptile with red scales crawled out of Kirche's room. It's tail was on fire and every once and a while it would open its mouth to let out a small puff of fire.

The reptile and Kiero locked eyes and commenced a staring contest.

_Cool,_ he thought _I had read about these in stories before… I think they were called salamanders._

"You know it's just like you to summon a commoner. What else was there to expect from Louise the Zero?"

Louise exploded in anger "Shut up!"

"Is that a salamander?" Louise asked jealously.

_Hah, I guessed right _Kiero thought

"That's right! A fire lizard! See, look at the tail. With a flame like that it means it's without a doubt a salamander from the Fire Dragon Mountains! Collectors can't even put a price on these!"

"That's nice," Louise said in a bitter tone.

"Isn't it? It matches my element perfectly!"

"Your element is Fire, isn't it?"

"Yeah. After all, I'm Kirche the Ardent. The ardent of gently smoldering passion. Everywhere I go, I have boys falling for me. Unlike you, right?"

Louise was about to bite back when her familiar spoke.

"Well at least she isn't a slut."

Kirche turned an angry glare at Kiero

"Excuse me?"

"I heard you last night, you know sleeping around isn't healthy. You could get a disease; yeah you can get sick from that. Louise here is a respectable young woman who doesn't need someone in her bed to feel satisfied with her life. She'll likely save herself for someone who she knows will make her happy and will spend the rest of their lives together."

"L-Louise, you let your familiar talk in such a manner?" questioned Kirche

Louise didn't know what to think. Her familiar had some morals apparently, and she didn't expect to be reminded of her fiancé, Wardes; how was he anyway? Probably out there still trying to make a name for himself.

That didn't matter right now, what did was that her familiar defended her and broke Kirche's air of confidence.

Maybe he wasn't as barbaric as she thought.

Apparently Kirche had enough because she then bade them farewell and quickly left with her familiar.

Once she was gone Louise shook her fist in the direction she left

"Ooh, that girl gets on my nerves! Just because she summoned a salamander from the Fire Dragon Mountains!"

"Why is that a big deal?"

"You can determine a mage's true power just by looking at their familiar. Why did that idiot get a salamander, while I got you?"

"Did you forget already that I'm no ordinary person" asked Kiero as he jumped up to stand on some invisible platform in the air in front of Louise.

"No, it's just…"

"By the way"

"What is it?"

"She called you Zero, I've heard people refer to you as that once and a while. Is it some kind of nickname?"

"Yeah… I don't want to talk about it, so don't ask!"

"Fair enough" said Kiero hoping down from his invisible ledge.

He then turned to Louise "Shall we go, I made you late enough as it is"

"Yeah, let's go."

They had missed breakfast and the first lesson of the day; they made it just after Mr. Colbert started his lesson.

* * *

He really found Mr. Colbert's lesson interesting.

The man wasn't just trying to teach his students how to cast spells but was also trying to encourage them to find new ways to apply magic to the world.

In fact, it seemed that he was on the verge of inventing this world's first engine.

Though all it did was pop a small fake snake out of a can, the possibilities were almost endless.

He had no idea what potential it had, he'd have to go talk to him sometime.

It was now lunch and after missing breakfast both him and Louise were starving.

Walking into the dining hall Kiero was further amazed, if he didn't know that it was probably shaped using magic he would have been impressed by the architecture and carvings on the walls.

In the dining hall were three long tables with students sitting at them. Each table of students was wearing different colored capes. Grades he guess, with Louise wearing a black one that place her at a 2nd year.

At the exact opposite end of the hall from the door was a raised area with a smaller table housing what looked like the teaching staff.

The food released an aroma that made Kiero's mouth water.

He followed Louise to the middle table and pulled out a chair for her and then one for himself.

He was so looking forward to this.

His attention was interrupted by a cough from Louise.

"Yes?" he asked her

Louise pointed to the floor, where a bowl had been placed.

_A bowl? It's filled with some kind of broth… wait, she doesn't expect me to…_

He gave Louise a questioning look to which she gave a short huff.

"You know, familiars are supposed to stay outside. You're only in here because I especially requested it."

_OH HELL NO!_

"Ok, that's it. I'm done. Listen Ms. Louise, taking away my meals if I don't hold up to your standards is one thing, and even if I do owe you my life, I expect to at least be treated to a proper meal. Now excuse me, I think I'll take my leave. I'll see you after you finish your lessons."

With that he left the dining hall, a couple pieces of food from the table floating through the air behind him, drawing the attention of more than a few students.

* * *

What the hell?!

Her familiar just walked out on her!

And worse yet he had made a scene of it with his use of magic.

Now everyone around her was bombarding her with questions as to who he was.

If she wasn't held to secrecy by the headmaster then…

Was that it?

She knew her familiar was smarter than he looked when he had mouthed off at Kirche.

Had he planned this?

Had he made a scene knowing that she'd be question by her peers and couldn't do anything about it without breaking her word to the headmaster?

_That sly overconfident dog! I'll get him back, let's see how long he can last without food. He'll be begging to be forgiven in no time._

Yes, she would get him back for this.

* * *

**AN:**

**Dear Readers,**

**Two chapters in one day, I cannot shut my brain off.**

**Tomorrow I'll be starting a job and with have zero access to internet.**

**That's what I get for working at a summer camp...**

**As such I'll only be able to update on Saturday nights**

**During my free time i'll be sure to write down what i can so i can type it up later.**

**I'm glad some of you are enjoying this.**

**Sincerely,**

**Blegh**

**p.s. **

**I might be able to squeeze off one more chapter before I leave. I'll do my best.**

**Also, i took a look at age ratings and the kind of language used in this chapter.**

**To be safe i'm bumping it up to M.**


	4. Chapter 4

Now all he had to do was find the kitchens.

After that stunt he just pulled Louise would probably try and punish him. More than likely using food to get to him, all living things needed food. So she'd try and take his meals away.

Okay, so let her think he wasn't eating. That why he was looking for the kitchens now.

Got to be prepared, as his father had always told him.

Kiero was walking the halls munching on the spoils from lunch looking for someone who could point him toward the kitchens. Or maybe he'd get lucky and stumble upon the kitchens himself.

Hopefully this would break her of some of her uptight attitude.

As these thoughts were running through his head Kiero noticed one of the hallway's doors was open.

Hoping he wasn't in the girls dorm he glanced inside.

Ok, was she the _only_ maid here?

Inside was Siesta making one of the student's bed.

"Um, hello there." He called out

The maid turned around, it was indeed Siesta.

"Oh, hello Mr. Familiar."

She was still sour about before was she?

"Look, I'm sorry if you thought I was making fun of you before. I don't think you're gullible just because you're a servant. If it makes you feel any better you can go to the headmaster and ask him to tell you my story, tell him I sent you and he should."

Siesta looked to be in thought for a moment, then "No, I should be sorry. It wasn't right for me to lose my temper like I should. I thought about all the things my father told me about my great grandfather and I realized that no one believed his early claims to be from another planted either. So when you claimed the same thing I just… it's hard to believe that you and my great grandfather came from a different world."

"I suppose it would be hard for anyone to believe, even the people in my world never knew about another world. I guess you could say this is history in the making."

"Y-yeah" Siesta said with a small giggle.

"Anyway, I was wondering if you could do me a small favor. I kind of got in trouble with Louise and I expect she'll try and take away my meals. So if you could show me where the kitchens are so I can sneak a bit here or there when she's being difficult I'd owe you one."

"Y-you made Ms. Valliére made, no you shouldn't do that! She's a noble, she can-"

"Have me punished? Well, she is a noble and she can try to punish me. But that's what I'm planning for. You don't have to be so scared of nobles you know, all it takes is learning how to outsmart them. Tell me, have you ever seen a frog eat an ant?"

"Um, yes?"

"That's very much like how nobles and commoners are, the frog being nobles and the ant, a commoner. Now, what happens if a whole nest of ants swarms a frog?"

"The… frog gets overwhelmed?"

"Yes, the same situation can be applied to nobles and commoners. One-on-one the noble can easily win with magic and fear. But if you think about it, how many nobles are there compared to commoners?"

Siesta was starting to get it.

"So what you're saying is that because the commoners outnumber the nobility it's only our fear that gives them power over us?"

"Exactly, I once watched a movie where a group of grasshoppers did the same thing to a colony of ants, until they overcame their fear and used their numbers to their advantage. It was made in one of the countries of my world."

"What's a movie?"

"Oh, it's… it's like a mini play that you can watch in your home."

"Oh, that sound's amazing. A play just for you and your family."

As Siesta was aglow with awe Kiero noticed something on the side of her face.

He slowly grabbed her chin, ignoring her blush, and turned her head to get a better look.

A bruise.

"Who did this?" he demanded

"I-It's nothing" she tried to lie

He then pulled her face right up to his and looked her directly in the eyes.

There was something there she saw. Something in them that flickered for just a second.

"I asked you who did this to you?"

His tone left no room for argument

"I-It was Guiche…" the words fell out of her mouth.

And with that he was gone, walking down the hall back toward the classrooms.

"W-Wait! Didn't you say that nobles would win a one-on-one confrontation like with the ant and the frog?!" she called after him.

He paused for a moment to turn back to her.

"I'm a big ant."

* * *

Louise was still being bothered by students asking her if her familiar could use magic.

Some asked her what she was thinking summoning a noble.

Class was just getting started when the door suddenly burst open.

Standing there was her familiar, her very mad looking familiar.

Giving a quick scan of the room he suddenly yelled out

"GUICHE!"

Guiche, at hearing his name almost jumped, but quickly turned a calm gaze over to her familiar.

"Can I help you?"

Without saying anything her familiar stormed over to Guiche and…

Punched him square between the eyes.

Guiche went down hard, everyone was quiet including the teacher.

What the hell was her familiar doing?!

Glaring down at Guiche her familiar yelled at him

"If you dare lay a hand on Siesta, or any servant for that matter, I will break that hand you slapped her with! She is a good person and one such as you are unworthy of her serving you, got it!"

Guiche, for his credit, took all of that calmly and stood up to regard her, completely ignoring her familiar.

"Is this how you let your familiar act?" he questioned her

She could only slowly shake her head.

"Hey, bozo! I'm talking to you!" her familiar continued.

Still ignoring him Guiche sighed "It seems I'll have to teach him for you"

Then Guiche gave her familiar a bored look.

"Very well then. I challenge you to a duel, let's say… the Vestri courtyard. Right now if you'd like."

"Perfect." Her familiar growled.

The two of them began to leave the room when the teacher called out

"H-Hey, where do you think you're go-"

Both Guiche and her familiar shot the teacher a glare that shut him up.

Then they left, with all of the students, including her, following close behind.

They had already reached the courtyard when Louise was able to think again.

She quickly ran over to her familiar

"What were you thinking?!"

"Lousie." He said

"Apologize to him."

"Louise." He said again in an annoyed voice

"If you don't want to be hurt, go and apologize. If you do it now, he might forgive you."

"Lousie." He said sternly

"You can't win. You'll be badly injured. Actually, you'll be lucky to come back alive with just injuries."

"Louise." He almost yelled, grabbing her shoulders turning to look at her directly

"If I don't do this he'll just continue abusing servants as he sees fit. I cannot allow that. Besides, against me he probably won't stand a chance. Nothing can touch me."

"And if he turns out to use fire?!"

"Then I'll still win, only it will be slightly harder"

_Why is he so stubborn?!_

"Fine then! I don't care if you get hurt, in fact I hope he hurts you!"

With that she stormed off.

She remained within sight though.

* * *

After Louise stormed off Kiero turned his attention back to Guiche.

One of the students stepped forward and called out.

"Gentlemen! It's a duel!"

Guiche lifted his artificial rose high, eliciting a loud cheer from the crowd.

"Guiche is going to duel! His opponent is Louise's commoner!"

Guiche then turned to him

"First of all, I commend you for coming here instead of running away!" Guiche remarked in a mocking tone, as he twirled his rose.

Kiero's only response was cracking his neck.

"Right then, let us begin," said Guiche.

He then flicked his rose, letting fly a single petal to float lightly down.

When it landed on the ground it transformed into an armor-clad female warrior made from some kind of metal.

A golem.

Seeing him regard the golem Guiche spoke up.

"I am a mage, therefore I fight using magic. Surely you have no complaints?"

"Hmph, fine by me." He responded, his voice betraying his confidence.

"I guess I forgot to mention earlier. My Runic name is "the Bronze." Guiche the Bronze. Accordingly, my bronze golem "Valkyrie" shall be your real opponent."

The golem then rushed him, almost faster than he could see.

It's right fist heading directly for his gut.

A loud impact echoed throughout the courtyard.

…

The golem's fist never made it close.

About a yard away from him it collided with something invisible and its whole arm crumbled under the force of impact.

The golem stood there for a moment before crumbling as well.

Guiche stood there, mouth slightly agape.

Kiero then began to take slow meaningful strides toward Guiche.

Panicking Guiche flicked his rose again and again, releasing six more petals to become golems similar to the first.

They all rushed him, using an assortment of weapons to try and get at him.

All of their attempts ended short of him, hitting that same invisible force, slowly wearing away at their weapons.

One by one the golems' weapons broke under their own force.

When he was only ten feet away from Guiche the golems ran over to form a wall between them.

With a simple wave of his hand all of the golems went crashing to the side.

With nothing standing in his way Kiero balled his fist and dashed toward Guiche before he could react.

For the second time that day Guiche got punched right between the eyes.

On the ground Guiche looked up at Kiero.

Kiero reached down and grabbed Guiche by the front of his shirt, pulling him to be face to face.

"Now tell me, are you going to hit Siesta again?"

Guiche shook his head

"Am I going to hear about you giving a servant a hard time again?"

Guiche shook his head again.

"Good" Kiero said, letting go of Guiche's shirt letting him fall back to the ground.

Kiero extended a hand to help Guiche up, gone was the scowl replaced with a warm smile.

"Then we'll have no problem being friends, right?" he said.

To Guiche, that smile was evil.

* * *

Siesta couldn't believe her eyes.

He had won.

So easily.

The golems couldn't even touch him.

Who was he?

Whoever he was he instilled so much confidence in her, even if it looked like he could be a noble he was so nice to her.

He had amazing power, and he didn't use it selfishly for his own purpose.

He used it to protect her.

She felt herself blush.

She would do anything to help someone like that.

Siesta left the courtyard to let the other servants know about their new friend.

She was almost to the servant's quarters when she was called out by Ms. Longueville, the headmaster's secretary.

"Excuse me, Ms. Siesta."

"Um, yes, how may I help you?"

"The headmaster just finished negotiations with Count Mott. It seems you will be transferred to work at his manor starting tomorrow. Please pack your things." She said, handing her a document showing the transaction with Mr. Osman's signature.

"What?"

* * *

"You're lucky he was an earth mage." Louise commented.

Kiero sighed.

They were on their way back to her dorm. Surprisingly, all throughout the rest of class they weren't called to the headmaster's office.

"I told you that even if he was a fire mage I could still beat him. He was rather weak anyway, I bet I could have beaten him without pysnergy"

"Don't get overconfident! If you beat Guiche then more will likely want to try and duel you, and one of them will be a fire mage."

"And if that's the case then I'll just use a different tactic."

"God, why are you so stubborn?!"

"Why do you have such little confidence in me?"

"Because…"

Why did she have such little confidence in him?

He was just a commoner, but he had proven himself to be much more than he seemed.

He was smart, had even outsmarted Kirche and her she hated to admit.

He was proving to be capable of handling any situation he found himself in.

He was capable… and she wasn't.

Even her familiar was better than her, that's why she tried to have no confidence in him.

It made her feel better about herself to think that her familiar wasn't as good as he was.

This realization made her angry.

Without thinking she turned and threw a kick right for his weak point.

Her foot stopped before reaching that point, she saw a smirk on his face.

_Damn him! Then I'll just…_

Louise then wiped out her wand and flicked it at him.

*BOOM*

The explosion rocked the hallway.

When the smoke cleared she saw the hallway blackened with soot and her familiar lying on the ground unconscious.

_That's right,_ she thought as she looked at her wand _He said himself that he couldn't stop energy based attacks._

Looked like her explosions fell into that category.

She smiled to herself.

She found her leverage.

* * *

Sometime later when he woke Kiero found himself in Louise room lying on his hay pile.

Looking out the window he could see that it was night.

Louise lay in her bed asleep.

Right, Louise blew him up. He didn't think she'd figure out how make use of his weakness so quickly.

But what kind of magic was that?

From what he'd heard during her lesson's there was four elements a mage could use.

Fire, Earth, Water, and Wind; and depending on the skill of the mage they could combine multiple elements. But no matter what combination of elements he could think of none of them would be able to cause such an explosion that he wouldn't have been able to block.

Just what the hell kind of magic was that?!

Wait… Now that he thought about it, the teacher mentioned one more element. A lost element and their godlike figure Brimir used thousands of years ago.

Void.

But that was supposed to be lost, how could Louise have it?

Still, all the evidence showed otherwise.

And now he had no way to stop her from using that explosion as means to punish him.

"Fuck" he whispered to himself.

He then rolled over in his hay pile and tried to think of ways he could get the advantage away from Louise until he fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, as he expected, Louise was quick to grab her wand when he started to give her a hard time.

_Damn it! She did figure it out!_

So when breakfast rolled around he begrudgingly sat himself on the floor to partake of the bowl of broth on the floor while that little devil child enjoyed her meat and potatoes.

He still had one card up his sleeve though, and it took the form of a black hair maid.

After breakfast he told Louise he had some things to do before he could join her in class.

She simply dismissed him with a huff then left.

Now he had to find that maid.

After wandering around for two hours with no such luck he sighed to himself.

Just where could she have gone?

He began his search once more when a scent hit his nose.

Following the scent he found himself in the kitchens

Yes! He did it, he finally found the kitchens.

Walking in, he could see multiple cooks rushing about, likely preparing the upcoming lunch.

After a minute one noticed him. He was a largely built man, and with the way he had been directing the other cooks he was the head chef.

"What can I do for you boy?" he asked.

"Oh I was just wondering where the kitchens were. I was going to ask one of the maids where this place was but seeing as I found it I saved her the trouble."

"Wait… are you Siesta's friend?"

"Um, yes?" he said confused.

"Siesta wanted me to give you a message. She looked like she was in a hurry."

"A message, what was it?" he asked

"Ah, well… she wanted me to tell you that she had to leave. Apparently she'd been transferred to work at Count Mott's estate. She also said that she was sorry she couldn't say goodbye directly and that she was grateful for standing up to a noble for her."

Kiero was silent

"Look I'm sorry you didn't get a chance to see her off. If you'd like I could treat you to a meal anytime you want, a friend of Siesta is a friends of ours. She's was such a nice girl."

No sooner had the chef finish that last sentence than Kiero left the kitchens.

His meal would have to wait.

* * *

Louise's lessons started out just as good as they did yesterday.

With her familiar kicking down the door.

"Guiche." He called, just like before.

This time however, Guiche was quick to bolt to a standing position.

"Yes!" he cried.

Her familiar walked over to Guiche…

And put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey there bud, look I need to ask you a question."

"Uh, uh, w-what is it?" Guiche stammered.

"Do you know where Count Mott's estate is?"

"Y-yeah, I do"

Guiche told him where the estate was and was about to leave the room when she called out after him.

"Hey, wait! Just what do you think you're doing going to the Count's estate at a time like this?"

Not even waiting her familiar ran out the door yelled back "Saving a friend!"

Great, now her familiar was running off to cause more trouble.

_What a dumbass_ she thought.

She was about to run after him when the teacher called her out.

"Ms. Valliére, just because you're familiar can make a show does not mean you can just leave class. You have missed enough days already as it is."

With that Louise had no choice but to sit back down.

A few minutes later when the teacher was wrapped up in a lecture she heard someone whispering to her.

Turning to look she saw Kirche looking at her.

Great, was she going to make fun of her _here_ of all places, and in the middle of class.

"Louise, as much as I'd like to see that mouthy familiar of yours get some sense knocked into him I'd hate to see you get in trouble for it. I might not act like it, but I think of you as my friend"

Louise glared at her suspiciously.

"Don't worry, Tabitha's agreed to help as well."

Louise looked over at the girl Kirche was talking about.

One of the only girls smaller that Louise, Tabitha had short bluish hair and glasses.

The girl used a staff and never really talked to anyone, preferring to keep her nose in her books.

Kirche continued whispering "She'll let us ride on her dragon so we can catch him after class"

That's right; Tabitha summoned a dragon as her familiar. One of the most impressive one's this year, probably the whole school.

_Well as long as Tabitha's going to help then I guess I can deal with Kirche, friend my ass_

Louise gave a small nod

Kirche gave her a smile.

* * *

The walk to Count Mott's was a long one, it was already almost sundown!

Kiero tried to run there but couldn't last more than seven minutes.

_Damn it, I need to get in shape_ he thought

As such a distance he should have traversed in only one or two hours took him all day to get to the Count's estate.

When he finally reached the gate a guard came out to question him.

"Hold it! What's your business here, it's almost dark"

Thinking quickly he answered "I'm a servant of the Valliére family, I have an important message for Count Mott."

If that girl was as important as she claimed to be then using her family name should get him in.

"Understood, please follow me"

_I'll be damn, it worked. Guess Louise wasn't kidding when she claimed to be from a very important family_

Hopefully she would forgive him for using her name like that…

No, she wouldn't.

Ah well, he'd figure that one out later, right now he had to think of a way to get Siesta back.

The guard told him to wait in the entrance hall while he went to inform the count of his presence.

While waiting he notice a couple of maids walk around.

_What the hell are they wearing?_

Almost every maid was dressing in a very provocative crimson outfits.

_What kind of place is this Mott guy running here? Whatever it is that's all the more reason why I need to get Siesta out of here_

Finally the guard came back and asked him to follow.

After a short walk through the mansion Kiero was shone through a door to find Count Mott sitting in a chair waiting for him.

Count Mott had very poor choice in clothing. It was all… poofy.

The count turned to address him.

"What do I owe the pleasure of having a servant of the Valliére family at my doorstep at this time of day? You have a message don't you, speak!"

Stepping forward Kiero stated his demands

"I want you to release Siesta."

"Does the Valliére family wish to employ Siesta?"

"No, she'll be returning with me to the Academy."

"So you're a servant of the Academy?"

"No, I'm just a familiar of one of the students, Louise Vallére."

"Just what is your relationship with Siesta _familiar_?"

"What's it matter what my relationship with Siesta is? You are going to let Siesta leave this whore house you've got going on her or there's going to be a problem."

"How dare you! Servant of the Valliére family or not I'll have you executed for this! Guards!"

Before the guards could rush him, however, the door behind Mott burst open and none other than Siesta, dressed in the same outfit as the other maids, ran in to kneel between the count and him.

"Siesta!" he called

"Sir Count. Please forgive that man's rudeness." She begged

"I will not. For me to take and insult from a meager commoner is a heavy offense. Move Siesta!" the count demanded

"I cannot." She answered

"What?"

"Count Mott, I beg of you. I'll take any punishment that you desire!"

Kiero couldn't believe this. Siesta was going to give herself to the count just like that?

He wouldn't let that happen.

The count turned from Siesta.

"You there, Valliére servant. I have a deal for you, I have a profound fondness for my book collection, and there is a book I want. It is a book that was accidently summoned here when a certain Sorcerer was experimenting with magic. It seems a distinguished family in Germania has kept it as their treasure. Their daughter is enrolled at the Academy. Whether a commoner like you knows her or not, her name is Zerbst."

_Kirche?!_

"If you want me to return Siesta, then bring me the Zerbst Treasure."

"I'm sorry"

"What?" asked the count turning to Kiero

"I'm no one's errand boy" he said, before punching the guard closest to him and charging the count.

* * *

**AN**:

**Dear Readers,**

**I did it! I squeezed out another chapter before I left.**

**I'm sorry about the lacking fight scene.**

**What do you expect, its Guiche against a Psychokinetic.**

**Kind of a one way battle.**

**I'll be able to make better fight scenes when stronger enemies roll around.**

**With Kirche I figured that after mouthing off at her, even if he did beat Guiche, that Kirche wouldn't have a thing for Kiero.**

**And if you're worrying about the introduction of Derflinger, don't, I got plans.**

**As such I skipped to the Mott incident to make up for the time lost when Kiero was recovering.**

**That is all for now.**

**Your reviews, tips and suggestions are always welcome.**

**Sincerely,**

**Blegh**


	5. Chapter 5

**The date I start my job got moved so... **

**BAM! Another chapter.**

* * *

That teacher was such a prick!

Not only had she kept Louise from leaving during class, but for the rest of the day as well.

She practically stalked her through lunch and afternoon classes.

Mrs. Chevreuse was quickly becoming one of her least favorite teachers.

The sun was setting when Louise finally managed to sneak away with Kirche and Tabitha.

They were now flying on the back of Tabitha's dragon, Sylph.

"Can this dragon go any faster?" Louise called up to Tabitha, who was riding in front.

Nodding Tabitha leaned forward and whispered something to her dragon.

What she said was lost in the wind to Louise but they gained a bit more speed.

Louise was just starting to get cold when Sylph began to slow down.

"Why are we slowing down, we need to hurry!"

Kriche turned to her "Calm down Louise, we're already here"

When Louise looked down she could see the Count's manor a short ways away.

They touched down with a loud thud.

As they hoped down from Sylph's back they noticed how empty the courtyard was.

They'd thought that with a dragon on their front lawn somebody would notice and come out to greet them.

Their question was answered when a loud crash echoed through the courtyard.

They looked up to see a short stream of water blast through one of the windows.

Damn it, a fight had already broke out.

That probably where all the guards ran off to.

Not wasting any more time, Louise bolted for the door with Kirche and Tabitha not far behind.

* * *

After charging the count and tripping him up with a sweep kick, Kiero was swarmed by guards.

At first they presented a problem with increasing numbers but knocking their heads together with psynergy was a quick fix.

The count however was another matter.

He didn't know how strong the count was, but he was a fast caster.

The water spells he used came so fast that he had little time to use psynergy to stop them.

As such he found himself on the defensive more often than not, and the times when he could through and attack didn't have much success. Forced to use psynergy to block incoming water and ice missiles he could only through punches and kicks, which the count easily sidestepped.

After several minutes of this, Kiero began to get worried.

_I can't keep this up much longer. My muscles are getting tired and this constant use of psynergy is taking its toll_

If he didn't wrap this up quickly he'd be in trouble.

Using psynergy on himself, he tried to make himself go faster so he could hopefully doge the counts spells and get in close.

Kiero tried to dash behind the count to get in his blind spot, but when an ice missile nearly nailed him in the face he quickly jumped back.

_Damn it! He knows how to lead a target, fuck!_

He tried again but a barrage of water spells kept him at a distance.

One spell actually crashed through a window.

Using the crash as a distraction Kiero through on a quick burst of speed, coming behind the count.

As the count turned to face him, Kiero went straight for a gut punch.

Yelling out "I'm not paying for that!"

A solid impact knock the air out of the count's lungs, and he doubled over gasping for breath.

Kiero jumped back to the other side of the room and took this chance to gain his breath as well.

He was at his limit, the count looked tired as well. Between the two of them however, the count probably had more steam in him.

Looking at the count Kiero thought to himself _I could probably win… if I can get close enough to get a good punch in on that annoying face of his, or maybe a kick in the back of the head would do just as well_

It was at this time that the doors burst open and Louise, Kirche and a small blue haired girl ran in.

Louise had her wand drawn and she began to wave it in their direction.

Panicking, he tried to stop her "Louise! Don't-"

*BOOM*

The explosion burst from the center of the room knocking both him and the count to the ground.

Before that smoke even cleared he could feel hands grab his sweater and start shaking him back and forth.

"What the hell were you thinking you idiot!" he heard Louise scream at him.

"Well Louise, it certainly looks like you made a _big_ mistake this time" Kirche said from somewhere across the room.

Louise stopped shaking him and he looked over to where Kirche was.

She was kneeling down looking over Count Mott, who was lying against the wall unconscious.

The explosion must have knocked him against the wall, hitting his head.

Now Louise was in a panic, she was glancing all around the room and waving her hands about like she didn't know what to do.

Then one of the doors slowly open.

"I-I-I didn't do it!" Louise screamed, actually cowering into Kiero's chest.

However, it was Siesta who walked slowly into the room. She had fled there when the fight had started.

"Don't worry Louise, it's just Siesta." He said to her.

Seeing that it was Siesta, Louise noticed her position.

She quickly gut punched him then scrambled away from him.

Stammering "I-I knew that!"

Tabitha waved her staff, lifting the Count's body into the air.

"Hospital." She quietly stated.

"Right, we should take him to get treatment. It wouldn't bode well if we left him here now, would it." Kirche said.

Kiero got up and dusted himself off.

Then followed Kirche and Tabitha out of the manor, with Louise chastising him the whole way and Siesta close behind.

* * *

They flew to a nearby village and left the count in someone's house.

It was Louise's idea to not tell anyone about the incident.

_Maybe he'll forget what happened_ she thought.

That would be the best outcome, if he didn't then she and her family would be in big trouble with the royal court.

She had to stop her familiar from having these outbursts.

They made it back to the academy just as the sun was rising.

Damn her familiar, because of him she didn't even get a wink of sleep.

When they reached breakfast Louise stood triumphantly before her familiar.

"As punishment for running away and causing so much trouble for me, no meals for three days!"

"What?!" her familiar gaped at her.

"No breakfast, lunch or dinner, be glad I'm not kicking you out of the room too."

With that she closed the dining hall's door in his face.

If she had opened the doors again and looked she would have seen her familiar smirk, then turn and walk away to the kitchens.

* * *

The next few days continued as normal.

Not surprisingly Kiero survived the three day food trial, thanks to a certain maid and kitchen staff.

However, as each day passed Louise was becoming increasingly anxious.

About what, he didn't know.

Then, one morning he woke up to find the Louise was up before him, pacing the room.

Letting out a yawn he sat up.

"So, why are you up so early Louise?"

She kept pacing

"Hey, Louise! Are you going to tell me why you've had your panties in a bunch for the past week or you just gonna wear your feet raw?"

At this Louise through a book at him, which he caught with psynergy.

Louise then sat on the edge of her bed and sighed.

"I completely forgot to mention the Evaluation Fair."

"The what Fair?"

"It's a yearly routine exam. It's to show off familiars that students have summoned to the entire academy."

"Sounds fun, will I have to participate?"

"Yes, all the second year students must participate. In any case, I want to avoid getting embarrassed."

"Come on Louise, look who you're talking to."

"Exactly what I'm talking about! You're rude, uncivilized, act without thinking, and are overall a disappointment for a familiar."

"Hey now!"

"Just come up with something before the end of the day, and please make it halfway decent. I'm going to class." And Louise left.

_An Evaluation Fair huh… is that like a talent show?_

He had a few ideas.

He got up and stretched a bit then went off to the kitchens.

* * *

"So why do want fifty plates again?" asked the head chef

"I plan to use them in the Evaluation Fair." Kiero answered

"Look, I appreciate what you did for Siesta; she seems a lot happier now. But I just can't let you take the plates. We need them for the upcoming feast, and we're in short supply as it is. I'm sorry."

"Oh…" he said, a disappointed look on his face "Okay then, thank you anyway."

Well, there went his magical juggling act, now what was he going to do.

He was leaving the kitchens when he saw a group of musicians walking by carrying an assortment of stringed instruments.

_They must be here to play during the fair_ he thought

He saw one in particular and walked up to the man.

"Hey, could I borrow that?"

* * *

All afternoon classes were canceled so student could welcome the Princess.

"So royalty actually attend this fair?" Kiero asked Louise

"Not in recent years, this is the first time Princess Henrietta has come to one of the academy's events."

"Hmm, I wonder what made her want to come."

As Kiero watched a convoy of horse drawn carriages pulled into the courtyard.

As they did someone called out "The Kingdom of Toristein, our Queen the Royal Highness, Princess Henrietta, has arrived!"

The second carriage was a bright pink and was being pulled by pure white unicorns.

"I assume the princess is in that one" he said to Louise, pointing at the pink carriage

But Louise wasn't listening.

He looked at her and saw her staring at someone.

When he looked he saw a man riding on a horse next to the princess' carriage, he had almost gray hair and a goatee.

_Louise is into older me? I never would have guessed_

At this time the carriages pulled to a stop and a servant opened the door to the princess' carriage. Out stepped another servant who then helped out the princess.

Wow.

The princess was _beautiful_.

Wearing a white dress the princess had a purple cape around her shoulders which highlighted her plum colored hair. The jewels on her dress brought out her light blue eyes.

_She almost looks like… Emma…_

The princess then walked forward to stand before the headmaster and the rest of the teachers, who kneeled before her.

"I apologize for my sudden selfish request, Mr. Osman." The princess said to the kneeling headmaster.

"Not at all." The headmaster responded respectfully, "Along with the students we have been awaiting for your arrival."

"I especially wanted to see this year's students with my own eyes." The princess continued

"And why is that?" asked the headmaster, raising his head.

Giving a smile the princess simply said "It's a personal matter."

* * *

That night Louise was looking at her familiar.

"What's that?" she asked

On the floor next to her familiar's hay pile was a black case. Its contents were unknown to her.

"It's for the Evaluation Fair, I will be using it during my performance."

"And what kind of performance is it then?"

"It's a sur-prize!" he said in a teasing manner

She was about to yell at him for keeping secrets from his master when a knocking came from the door.

"Yes, yes, who is it?" Her familiar said as he walked over to open the door.

Just as he grabbed the handle the door opened suddenly and in rushed a cloaked figure, quickly closing the door behind them.

Freaked out at the intrusion Louise raised her wand at the figure

"Who are you?!" she demanded.

"It's been a while…" the figure whispered, before suddenly rushing her.

Wrapping her in a tight hug, the cloak's hood falling away to reveal none other than the princess.

"Louise Françoise!" the princess cried.

Stunned, Louise could only stammer "P-Princess, y-your Highness?!"

"Louise, Louise. My dear Louise…" the princess cooed

* * *

Standing there listening to the princess coo over Louise, Kiero was speechless.

_I think I'm going to be sick. Girl drama is such a bore, she's nothing like Emma!_

* * *

Feeling embarrassed Louise pushed the princess away.

"You cannot, your Highness!" she said.

"To come to such a humble place alone." She continued, getting down on her knee.

"Please stop with that formal conduct, Louise Françoise." The princess said, "We are friends."

Feeling honored Louise responded "Those words are too kind, Princess."

Her familiar then interrupted "You know the princess Louise? You sure have friends in high places don't you."

"When the Royal Princess was young, I had the pleasure to be her playmate." She answered her familiar.

"Please say that we are childhood friends." The princess said, with tears in her eyes, "I always wanted to see you…"

"Princess…" Louise said, standing up.

"I'm sorry." The princess said, wiping the tears from her eyes, "Ever since my father passed away, I didn't have a person who I could open my heart to."

Grabbing the princess' hand Louise said "Princess, I was surprised when I received your letter."

* * *

Ah, now it made sense to Kiero why Louise was so anxious about the Evaluation Fair.

She wanted to impress her friend, and a royal princess at that.

_But seriously, if they get anymore lovey dovey I'm gonna hurl_

Noticing him the princess turned to him and asked "And who might you be? Are you Louise's lover?"

Louise immediately shot up "No, no, no, nothing like that! This worthless excuse for a human is my… my familiar."

The princess seemed intrigued "Really? Will he be presenting in the Fair tomorrow? A human familiar, how interesting… may I see your runes?"

"Um, what runes?" asked Kiero, confused.

The princess' smile faded to a concerned frown, turning to Louise she spoke.

"Louise, you did complete the familiar contract with him, right?"

Looking sheepishly she answered "No…"

Sighing the princess walked to stand by the door.

"I'm sorry Louise, but the rules state that only familiars can present in the Evaluation Fair, and as you have yet to complete the contract he is technically not your familiar. I would very much like to see you perform, that is why I came here after all. Please don't let me down Louise; I'll see you two tomorrow." She said before giving Louise a quick hug and leaving the room, closing the door silently behind her.

After a short period of silence Kiero turned to Louise, "So, what is this familiar contract? I know you said to forget it but it seems there's no choice now if you want to impress the princess now, is there?"

Without responding Louise walked right up to him, looking very conflicted about something.

Then without warning she kissed him full on the mouth.

After a moment she pulled away.

_What the fuck?!_ He thought, _that was… bold of her, and very out of character._

Wasn't she supposed to hate and despise him?

With the way she acted before this was the most unexpected thing she could have done.

What made her-

_Oh, oh fuck. Shit, Shit SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! SHIT!_

The back of his left hand was burning like the gods of vengeance decided to give raise to a sun in its location.

Ten thousand. God. Damn. Suns!

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of pain, it faded away.

Kiero looked down at his hand; on it unfamiliar letters were etched into his skin.

"What are these?" he asked

"Those are the familiar runes the princess was talking about, they mark you as my familiar for life."

"Great…" he groaned.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to your master!" Louise yelled raising her wand at him.

Suddenly the wand flew out of Louise's grasp and over to where Kiero caught it.

"No more wand for you." He stated triumphantly

"Hey! Give that back this instant!" she yelled at him

"No"

She then lunged for him, to which he simply raised her into the air.

With nothing to grab Louise shook her limbs back and forth trying uselessly to get at him.

To anyone who didn't know what was going on it would almost seem… cute.

However, Kiero was not fooled. He knew how dangerous she was with a wand.

"I think I'll hang on to this for a while, until you can get your attitude straight."

"I don't have an attitude!"

"I beg to differ, now off to bed with you." He said, moving Louise over to her bed.

When he set her down she tried to scramble off the bed to get at him but he quickly wrapped her up in her own blankets so she couldn't move.

"Hey!"

"I'll see you in the morning Louise" he said, lying on his hay pile.

Louise struggled long into the night, but to no avail.

Finally she fell asleep, with dreams of blowing up stupid familiars.

* * *

"We shall begin with this year's familiar debut!" called the announcer.

Today was the Evaluation Fair where she and her familiar would present along with the rest of the second years, in front of the princess.

She hoped her familiar wouldn't embarrass her in front of the princess, it was the least he could do since he decided to confiscate her wand.

One by one the students went on stage to present their familiars while she waited in line.

Kirche and Flame didn't a fire ring show.

Montmorency had her frog do tricks to the tune of a fiddle.

A large boy had his owl trail a string of small flags through the air.

Guiche posed with his mole on a bed of rose petals.

Tabitha flew over the crowd on her dragon.

Finally it was their turn.

"Next, Ms. Louise de la Valliel." Announced Mr. Colbert.

"Well, here goes nothing" her familiar said, walking out on stage.

She begrudgingly followed.

Mr. Colbert stopped them before they got on stage.

"Did you complete the contract Ms. Valliére?"

Kiero held up his hand, showing the newly inscribed runes.

Mr. Colbert studied them for a while.

"Very good, you may pass." He said, letting them on stage.

When they reached center stage she turned to the crowd.

Clearing her voice she said to the crowd "Allow me to introduce you to my familiar, Kiero. His classification is…"

"Do your best, Louise the Zero!" called out that same boy with the owl.

The crowd laughed.

Louise glanced nervously at where Henrietta was sitting with the headmaster.

Seeing the princess' smile filled her with confidence.

Turning back to the crowd she continued "His classification is… a Commoner!"

The crowd broke out laughing again.

Some people in the crowd began jeering

"What do you mean his classification is a Commoner? That's his status!"

"Just as expected from you, Louise the Zero!"

"You never cease to amaze us!"

Now her familiar stepped forward with that same black case from before.

He set it on the ground and opened it.

In it rested a high quality violin.

_Where did he get that?_ She wondered.

Stepping back she watched him slowly pick up the violin and bow.

Getting the violin in place he had a faraway look in his eyes, she noticed.

As her laid the bow across the stings the crowd was murmuring to themselves, wondering what he was going to play.

As the first notes drifted across the field everyone went dead silent.

Over the next couple of minutes her familiar played a slow peaceful tune that made her shiver.

Where had he learned to play? He was good.

Finally, as the last notes echoed across the courtyard the crowd broke into applause.

Her familiar however, didn't acknowledge the crowd and walked past her.

_Was he… crying?_

His eyes were watering when he walked past her.

Worrying, she chased after him.

"Hey, why were you crying back there?" she called after him.

When he refused to answer her she got angry.

"Hey! Answer me!"

He stopped so suddenly that she nearly ran into him.

"Hey, why'd you stop so sud-"

Her words were lost as she looked up to behold a massive golem standing in the middle of the courtyard.

"A G-Golem?" she stammered

"A golem, like the ones Guiche summoned? It's bigger than his though."

"That's because it probably belongs to a stronger mage. But what's a golem doing here?"

"This isn't your lucky day!" they heard someone call from atop the golem as it extended a massive hand to crush them.

Her familiar pushed her out of the way just as the hand dropped on him.

"Kiero!" she screamed as the dust cleared.

Then she saw her familiar underneath the golem's hand, holding it from crushing him using that power he called psynergy.

He was on one knee and was breathing hard.

It must have taken a lot of power to stop that golem's hand from crushing him.

* * *

_That was close; I'd better not let that thing get another hit in_

With that in mind Kiero focused as much psynergy as he could spare into his legs.

He then bolted out from under the golem's hand.

"What!" came a gasp from the figure standing atop the golem.

Dashing for one of the thing's legs he heard Louise call out at him.

"Hey!"

"What?!"

"My wand!"

Without hesitating Kiero grabbed Louise's wand from his pocket and sent it flying toward Louise.

Once he reached the base of the golem's leg he activated the stored psynergy in his legs to run up it.

At about the knee the golem tried to grab him.

He jumped from the leg to its arm and continued running along the limb to the top of the golem.

Now he could see the hooded figure standing on the other side of the golem's head.

Running straight for the figure he almost didn't see them wave a wand under their cloak.

A pillar of soil burst from the golem's head underneath his feet.

He jumped back to land back where he had started on the golem's head.

Then an explosion burst from the academy tower's wall nearby.

His footing was already bad from jumping and the shock from the explosion knocked him off the golem entirely.

Having to use psynergy to steady his fall he landed next to Louise, who had here wand in hand looking guilty as ever.

"What the hell was that?!"

"A fireball"

"A fireball my ass! You almost hit me!"

"So my aim was off"

"You were _trying_ to hit me?!"

"Not you, the golem!"

"This is why I took your wand away in the first place, you're dangerous!"

While they were arguing the golem reared back its arm and punched the side of the tower where Louise's spell had hit, breaking a hole into the tower.

When they heard the crash they looked up to see the figure jump out of the hole back onto the golem, they had a box in their hands.

"Golem!" the figure called.

The golem retracted its hand from the tower.

"I appreciate it!" the figure called as the golem took giant steps out of the courtyard and away from the academy, quickly disappearing into the forest.

Shortly after, Tabitha landed next to them with her dragon; she was wearing a small gold crown.

Did that mean she won the Evaluation Fair?

_Heh, I guess nothing beats a dragon_

* * *

A short while later a crowd had formed looking up at the hole in the tower wall.

At the back stood Louise and her familiar.

"For her to control such a large golem, she has to be at least a Triangle-class Mage."

"So, what did she steal? Was it important?"

"I heard that it was the Staff of Destruction, a very powerful artifact."

"You mean stronger than your little booms?"

Louise swung a fist at her familiar, who easily caught it in his hand.

She calmed down quickly when she noticed the princess running towards them.

"Thank goodness you two are okay." The princess said as she reached them

"Princess, I apologize for not being able to defend the Kingdom's treasure" Louise said as she kneeled before the princess.

Kneeling down with her, the princess said "It was not your responsibility, Louise Françoise."

Raising her head Louise started to argue "But still…"

"Excuse me," her familiar interrupted, "not that it's any of my business. But walls can be fixed and stolen artifacts can be retrieved; lives lost however, cannot be replaced Louise. We should be glad that no one was hurt."

"Well said Mr. Familiar" the princess said.

"My name is Kiero"

"Well Mr. Kiero, I thank you for taking such good care of my friend."

"Your Highness, please hurry" said one of the princess' guards.

The princess gave a nod to the guard then turned back to Louise.

"I must report this happening to the Royal Court, but let us meet again in the near future. Louise, Kiero."

The princess then boarded her carriage and left the academy.

As she was riding away Louise whispered worryingly to herself "I hope that the Princess will not be held accountable for this…"

"How can the Princess be held accountable for the break in of a thief?" her familiar asked.

Lowering her head Louise answered her familiar's question "Recently, within the Royal Court, I've heard an unpleasant rumor. Although it is just futile, even if I worry about it."

"What kind of rumor?"

"That the Princess insisted on coming here despite the Royal Court's arguments. And that the Academy's guards were busy keeping guard over the Princess, giving a thief the perfect opportunity to break in."

Her familiar raised a hand to place it on her head.

Looking up at him questioningly he looked back at her.

"Whatever happens I'm sure the Princess will be fine" he said.

_What kind of person is he?_ She thought, _No matter what happens he always stays so calm_

_He was more concerned if anyone was hurt than an important national treasure_

_Doesn't he realize how this will hurt the Princess', or the academy's reputation?_

* * *

The next day there was no teacher, on the chalk board it said 'Self-study due to recent break in'

No one was studying however.

They were all talking about the thief.

"But it's terrible…" Kirche said, "It's rumored that Henrietta might be held accountable. Fouquet was able to enter because of what little security there was, and it was used to guard the Princess, right?"

Louise looked worried.

Regardless of all the resistance from her peers," Kirche continued, "it seems that Henrietta made the decision to come to observe in the first place."

"Princess…" Louise whispered.

Suddenly the classroom door opened and Mr. Colbert stepped in.

"Ms. Valliére, Ms. Tabitha…" he called, "Come to the Principal's office immediately."

* * *

A short walk later Kiero found himself in Mr. Osman's office along with Louise, Tabitha… and Kirche.

Louise turned to Kirche

"Why are you here?" she questioned.

"Why not?" Kirche replied, "It seems interesting."

Then Mr. Osman's secretary spoke up "After gathering information in town, it seems a suspicious person has been seen coming in and out from the depths of the forest to an abandoned."

"It's remarkable how fast you get the job done, Ms. Longueville" The headmaster praised.

Ms. Longueville then continued, "From that report, I drew this to my best ability."

She handed the headmaster a rolled up piece of paper.

After unrolling it and looking it over himself, he turned it so everyone else could see.

On it was a very accurate drawing of the thief from the other day.

"What do you think?" the headmaster asked

"This is Fouquet. There is no mistake" said Louise.

Tabitha nodded.

"Let's report this immediately to the Royal Court," Mr. Colbert said to the headmaster, "and request for the Royal Task Force to send soldiers over."

Lowering his head, the headmaster responded "If we fiddle our thumbs doing all that, then Fouquet will see it coming. We will retrieve the Staff of Destruction and restore the Academy's honor which the thief has tarnished."

Turning to address everyone, Mr. Osman continued "All those with who are with me, raise forth your staff."

An awkward silence passed between each of the staff members, no one raising their wands or staffs.

"Hmmm… What is the matter?" asked the headmaster, looking around.

"Is there any Noble that wants to gain fame by capturing Fouquet?"

Again, an awkward silence filled the room.

Then, slowly a wand was raised.

It was Louise.

* * *

**AN:**

**Dear Reader,**

**Okay, this has been bothering me for the longest time.**

**Henrietta is a mage so where's her familiar?**

**Not once was it referenced during the anime or in the light novel.**

**Am I missing something or did you guys notice this as well.**

**Anyway, I listen to music for inspiration while writing**

**and during this chapter my ZnT OST came on :P**

**Speaking of which, during the Evaluation Fair Kiero played the violin.**

**I personally pictured him playing a violin rendition of 'Silent Night'**

**But you as the readers can picture him playing anything you feel like.**

**Remember, feel free to give any tips, suggestions and reviews.**

**Sincerely,**

**Blegh**


	6. Chapter 6

"Louise, what are you thinking!" her familiar questioned.

"I will go!" she declared.

_This way I can prove that I'm not a zero_

"Look what happened last time, your 'fireball' was _sooo_ effective. What do you think you're going to do when we have to face that golem again?!" her familiar argued.

_Why can't he have some faith in me? I am his master after all_

"I said I will go, so I'm going!" she yelled at her familiar.

"Ms. Valliére?" questioned Mr. Colbert, slightly surprised.

"I will also go." Said Kirche, raising her own wand.

Louise looked at Kirche, "Zerbst?"

"I will not lose to a Valliére" she declaired.

"You…" Louise grumbled, giving Kirche a suspicious look.

Suddenly Kirche looked surprised, "Tabitha?" she said.

Looking over Louise saw Tabitha was also raising her staff.

"You don't need to." Kirche said, "This is between us."

"I'm worried about you two" was all she said.

"Tabitha…" Kirche said, blushing.

_She cares so much about her friends _Louise thought, _Wait, is that why my familiar is against me doing this? Is he worried about me?_

A small blush crept across her face as well.

"Thank you" she said, more to herself than to anyone.

Sighing, the headmaster spoke up "Then let us count on you three. These two witnessed Fouquet." He then indicated Tabitha and herself, "On top of that, Ms. Tabitha, even at this young age, has been given the title of Chevalier Knight."

Louise and Kirche turned to Tabitha, mouths gaping.

"Knight?!" she gasped.

"Nice," she heard her familiar comment. "just like the small silent one to be a badass."

"Is that true, Tabitha?" Kirche asked.

Tabitha looked at them and nodded.

Turning then to address Kirche, the headmaster continued "Furthermore, Ms. Zerbst is from a family with an exceptional Germanian military ancestry. I've heard she wields powerful fire magic."

Kirche puffed out her large chest in pride.

"And then…" the headmaster said, turning a worried look at Louise.

Louise also stood with pride at her upcoming praise while Mr. Osman let out a cough.

"Ms. Valliére is the daughter of the Valliére family who has turned out several excellent Mages…" the headmaster began, "And you know, how would you say…"

Confused, Louise looked at the headmaster.

"In the future, with high hopes…" said the headmaster, sweating nervously.

She heard her familiar snicker behind her.

_W-What?!_

"Oh, that's right!" the headmaster declared, regaining his composure, "I heard that her familiar makes remarkable use of a mysterious form of magic and has even overwhelmed General Gramont's son, Guiche Gramont."

Stunned, Louise stood there as the headmaster praised her familiar instead.

The headmaster then called out to the three of them, "Our Magic Academy is counting on your efforts, and your duty as a Noble."

Louise, Kirche and Tabitha raised their wands/staff, with determined expressions.

_I'll show the headmaster that I'm better than my familiar_ she thought.

"Old Osman," said the headmaster's secretary, "I will accompany them as their guide."

"Will you do so, Ms. Longuevill?" asked the headmaster.

"I have been intending to do so all along" she responded, giving them all a smile.

* * *

Thirty minutes later the five of them, Louise, Tabitha, Ms. Longueville, Kirche, and her familiar were riding in a small topless horse drawn carriage. Ms. Longuevill was driving.

After two hours they were heading pretty deep into the forest.

Louise noticed her familiar was staring at Ms. Longuevill, so she elbowed him in the side.

"What?" he asked her.

"Don't stare, it's rude!" she whispered at him.

Kirche then turned to her familiar, "I've been meaning to ask, at the familiar evaluation fair the other day you played that violin wonderfully. I was impressed, where did you learn to play?"

Her familiar looked down at the bottom of the carriage, "I… learned how to play from someone… important to me" his voice sounding very subdued all of a sudden, "Though I don't think I'll ever be nearly as good as her."

"An important person eh, what is she, your girlfriend?" Kirche asked, "Louise, how could you take this man from his girlfriend?! You should know better than to separate love!" she chastised Louise.

Suddenly being interrogated, Louise was glancing around nervously.

"It's alright," her familiar said, stopping Kirche's further questioning, "she… isn't around anymore."

Looking at her familiar, Louise saw that he had small tears in the corner of his eyes.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

"She died…"

"Is that why you were crying after the Evaluation Fair?"

"You cried?!" Kirche suddenly burst out.

"Shut it Zerbst!" Louise yelled, turning an angry glare at her.

Giving a huff, Kirche turned away from Louise, "I was just making small talk since there's nothing else to do" she said, "Honestly, what made me do this?"

"You shouldn't have come then" Louise said.

Turning back to Louise "What about you?" Kirche questioned, "What do you plan to do if that Golem comes out again?"

"Obviously, I will use my magic…" Louise said, getting angry.

"Magic!" Kirche said in a mocking tone, "Whose? Don't make me laugh, Louise the Zero!"

While the two of them were glaring daggers at each other, her familiar pushed them apart.

"Why do you and the rest of the students call her 'Louise the Zero'?" he asked Kirche.

"Don't tell hi-" Louise tried to interrupt, but Kirche beat her to it.

"It's because she has no proficiency in magic, all her spells end in failure."

"Is that why your 'fireballs' go *boom*, Louise?"

"Shut up!" she yelled at them, "I just make little mistakes!"

"The only thing little is you, Louise" jabbed Kirche, puffing out her chest.

Not wanting to lose, Louise did the same, but…

"Are we going to have this discussion again, Ms. HIV positive?!" her familiar piped up.

Glaring at her familiar, Kirche gave a huff before turning away.

Louise looked at her familiar.

_That's twice now he's stood up for me. Why is he defending me, it's not like I treat him nice or anything…_

"We're almost there," Ms. Longueville said, "so please refrain from being loud."

Up ahead they could see a small clearing with a cabin along its edge.

Pulling the carriage to a halt, Ms Longueville stepped off followed by the rest of them.

Turning to them, Ms. Longueville said "According to information, the Staff of Destruction is in that cabin."

"It's just your basic abandoned shed" commented Kirche.

"It could just be for camouflage" Louise told her.

"Louise is right Kirche," her familiar said, "it could be a trap. I'll go scout out the area around the cabin."

"Then I'll go check the surrounding woods in case the thief is waiting in ambush" Ms. Longueville suggested.

"Yeah, you go do that…" her familiar said, looking at Ms. Longueville for a bit longer that what felt comfortable.

"The rest of you stay hidden until I give the all clear" he said to the rest of them.

* * *

_Well, everything looks clear_ Kiero thought.

He then gave the safe signal to the others.

They walked over, Tabitha scanning the door for any magical traps.

"It looks like there are no traps" she said, before opening the door and going inside.

"Tabitha!" Kirche called, running in after her.

"You coming Louise?" he asked her, heading into the cabin as well.

"No, I will stand guard outside" she said.

"Be careful then" he said, before disappearing inside the cabin.

Inside the cabin.

"Let's look to see if there are any leads" Kirche said, "But, I doubt there are any."

Looking around, Kiero saw that everything was covered with dust.

_There's no sign that anyone was staying here. Not even footprints._

Tabitha looked inside a drawer she had pulled open, then noticed a case lying in the corner that lacked the film of dust everything else had.

"Oh well…" Kriche said, "There is nothing here anyway, Tabitha, Kiero, let's go."

"The Staff of Destruction" Tabitha said.

Turning to look, Kiero and Kirche saw Tabitha holding the artifact's shiny case, with a blank expression.

_That was almost too easy_, Kiero thought, _Isn't this supposed to be a master thief we're dealing with?_

Suddenly a scream came from outside, it sounded like Louise.

Just as they turned toward the door the roof was torn away, revealing the same golem that broke into the academy.

Standing forward, Tabitha raised her staff, speaking an incantation.

A whirlwind of air shot from her staff at the golem.

It made a direct hit to the thing's face, but no damage was done.

Kriche then drew her wand from between her breasts, saying her own incantation, releasing a large stream of fire.

Surprisingly the golem caught fire and stumbled back.

But then it swiped its hand across its face, putting out the flames.

"This is futile, against this thing…" Kirche groaned nervously, taking a step back.

Tabitha then let out a whistle, and as if they had always been there, Tabitha's dragon swooped down to let them on its back.

Tabitha and Kirche got on, when they saw him hesitating Kirche asked "What are you waiting for?! Get on!"

"Louise!" he yelled, turning to run out the door.

Louise was standing behind the golem with her wand raised.

_That idiot! What's she gonna do to that thing if even Tabitha and Kirche couldn't hurt it?_

She then flicked her wand, a small explosion hitting the golem on the back, blasting away a few chips of rock and soil.

The golem halted its advance toward the cabin, turning around to regard Lousie.

"Get away from that thing Louise!" he yelled, running out towards her.

Raising her wand again, Louise declared "No! I am a Noble!"

As the golem approached, looming over her, Louise continued her rant, "Using magic doesn't mean you are a Noble, the ones who will not turn their backs to their adversary are Nobles!"

_That fucking idiot!_ He thought, dashing towards her.

"I will not be called Louise the Zero anymore!" she yelled, closing her eyes and waving her wand as the golem raised a stone fist.

A small explosion hit the thing on its chest, doing little to no damage.

The fist descended to crush her.

He made it just before the fist did, tackling Louise and pushing her out of the way.

* * *

Louise got up on her elbows and began to yell at her familiar, but he was already gone.

Tabitha's dragon landed next to her and she climbed on, scanning for her familiar.

As they took off she found him dashing between the golem's legs, giving them kicks that knocked away good chunks of rock and soil.

However, just as he knocked a section away, more soil would replace what was missing.

This was a losing battle.

Her familiar would tire and get killed if they didn't do something soon.

That's when Louise noticed the Staff of Destruction next to her.

* * *

_Damn it! I'm making no progress here_

Sure he was taking out good chunks of its legs, but any damage he did was quickly repaired.

If he could just find the mage controlling it he could end the spell.

He tried to run up the thing's leg like before to see in the thief was atop it, and if not then use the golem as a lookout point.

It seemed like the golem knew his plan however, as it used sweeping attacks to keep him at a distance; and anytime he did get on one of the limbs, pillars of rock would shoot out beneath his feet forcing him to jump back to the ground.

He was about to try a different tactic when he saw Louise floating down to the ground a ways away, the Staff of Destruction in her hands.

_That's the Staff of Destruction?! That's not a staff, that's…_

He then bolted for Louise.

He reached her as she was waving around the staff to no avail.

"Give me that!" he said, taking the staff from her.

The runes on his hand began to glow.

**_"... ... ... ... ..."_**

_What?_ He thought, surprised as information flooding his mind.

Instructions on how to use the staff… no, not a staff, a rocket launcher!

Kiero pulled a pin, flipped open a lid, extended the barrel and popped up the sight.

He then raised it on top of his shoulder and pushed the trigger.

A blasting noise was heard as a missile shot out of the launcher and toward the golem.

Suddenly an exlosion hit the golem, causing it to stumble to the side. The rocket went flying past it to explode somewhere in the forest after a couple of seconds.

Kiero turned a blank expression to Louise, who was holding her wand again.

"I was trying to help!" she quickly tried to explain.

He dropped the launcher to grab her by the front of the shirt with one hand, the other flying in to punch her across the face.

* * *

She laid there, being held up by her familiar, unable to say or do anything.

"JUST WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" he screamed in her face, "DO YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT YOUR ACTIONS! WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT YOU'RE MORE OF A NUISANCE THAN AN ACTUAL HELP!"

He then let go of her, letting her fall to the ground to stare up at him, standing over her.

"Honestly, your spells are useless!" he continued to yell at her, "Get that through that thick head of yours and stop acting so 'Noble' before you get yourself and everyone around you killed! Thanks to you I wasted the only shot in that rocket launcher you mages mistook for a magical staff! That was probably our only chance to beat that thing, now what are we going to do?!"

She was at a loss; his words were like an icy spear that pierced here mind and heart.

Then she saw something he didn't.

"Look out!" she screamed.

He then turned just in time to take the golem's swinging hand directly in the face.

Her familiar flew across the clearing to collide with a large tree.

"Kiero!" she screamed, tears starting to form in her eyes.

_He's dead! I couldn't let go of my stubbornness to prove myself and now he's dead._

_He was right, I am just a nuisance. I always get in the way, making things harder for others, and now someone got killed. His death is on me, everything is my fault._

As these thoughts rocked her brain, Louise broke into tears.

She laid there crying, not even caring that the golem was raising its fist to crush her.

Then she felt it, an oppressing force making it hard for her to breath.

She looked up at Tabitha and Kirche, they didn't seem to be able to feel it.

Then looking at the golem, she noticed that it had turned to look in the direction Kiero had been knocked away.

She saw him pulling himself from the splinters of the broken tree.

His arm looked broken.

He raised his head to look at the golem; his eyes were no longer dull green.

They were now a bright emerald green, almost glowing.

Then he began laughing.

A loud, mechanical laughter, filled with ecstasy; while his mouth spread into a large sadistic smile.

_What's going on?!_ She wondered.

He then shot through the air. Right up to the golem's torso, delivering a roundhouse kick in the center of its chest; blasting a large crater in it and knocking it to the ground.

He followed it to the ground, landing on its face. Using his one good hand, he began to smash its face to pieces, laughing the entire time.

The golem's hands were raised, twitching with each, and every, blow.

Louise watched, horrified as the golem gave one last jerk before crumbling into a pile of dirt.

Tabitha landed next to her, her and Kriche dismounting to watch, just as confused as Louise.

Kiero then stood up on the pile of dirt, his gaze turning to find them.

Smiling, he took slow steps toward them; reaching out at them with one hand, his laughter building once again.

_What's going on, _she thought, watching him, _how did he get so strong all of a sudden. Why is he looking at us like that, I don't like that look in his eyes… is he going to hurt us?!_

Louise began to panic, she looked up at Kirche and Tabitha.

_Why aren't they running away, can't they see he's gone mad?!_

"Fouquet? Where is she?" she heard Tabitha say.

"If the golem was here, then she must still be close" Kirche agreed.

Kiero had almost reached them at this point, his hand a mere foot away from Louise.

Suddenly a motion to the side drew his attention.

Looking over they saw Ms. Longueville walk out of the forest, she picked up the dropped Staff of Destruction.

"Well done" she said.

"Ms. Longueville, where were you until now?" Louise questioned.

"It does live up to its name as the Staff of Destruction, it cleared a whole section of the forest where the spell landed" Ms. Longueville said, undoing the hair tie that was holding her hair in a ponytail. Her hair cascading over her shoulders, she removed her glasses before continuing, "What's more interesting is that familiar of yours, Ms Vallére, he single handedly shattered by golem to pieces."

"My Golem?" Kirche mouthed.

"Fouquet" Tabitha declared, raising her staff at her.

"Don't move!" Fouquet yelled at them, halting Tabitha's movement.

"It was good that I stole it, but I had trouble using it. I thought that if I dragged someone along from the Academy, they might be able to use it properly."

"That's why…" Kriche gasped.

Ignoring her, Fouquet continued "I was rather disappointed that students came instead of the Professors, but I'm in luck. Somehow your familiar was able to use it, and from watching him I was able to deduce how to use it myself. Let me thank you and say goodbye."

Kiero then began to walk toward Fouquet.

Looking at him, she scoffed "You're either brave or stupid."

He simply looked at her with that same sadistic face.

"I said don't move!" she yelled at him, pushing the trigger.

Louise cowered, along with Kirche and Tabitha, but nothing happened.

"Why?" Fouquet said, looking at the staff like it betrayed her.

She then looked up to catch Kiero's hand wrapping around her throat.

He lifted her off the ground, strangling her.

As she felt her windpipe being crushed, Fouquet struggled to look down at Kiero.

He looked up at her, eyes gleaming and a bloodthirsty smile on his face.

He laughed sadistically at her.

She felt her mind go fuzzy from lack of air.

Just as she was about to black out Louise ran over to Kiero.

Grabbing his arm and shaking it, she yelled at him "Stop it! Can't you see you're about to kill her?! Didn't you saw yourself to think before you act!"

He turned to regard her with a confused expression.

She looked fearfully into his eyes.

_I won't let anyone else get hurt, even if it is a thief_

After a second the light left his eyes, fading from their emerald hue back to dull green.

She felt the pressure on her dissipate.

He then collapsed, hand releasing Fouquet.

Fouquet stumbled to the ground coughing.

_That familiar nearly killed me!_ She thought.

But then the world around her went black as she was struck on the head by Tabitha's staff.

Lifting Fouquet and Kiero, Tabitha turned to her and Kirche, "Job done" she said.

Kirche nodded, and they all began heading back to the carriage.

As they rode back to the Academy, Louise looked over at Kiero, lying unconscious in the bed of the carriage.

_What happened back there? Why did he suddenly act all wild like that, I really thought he was going to kill Ms. Longue-er, Fouquet._

_Something happened when he was struck by that golem…_

* * *

The ride back was done in complete silence.

The three of them were in the headmaster's office.

Kiero was in the medical wing getting his broken arm fixed.

Turning her attention back to the headmaster, Louise heard him begin speaking.

"Fouquet is in custody of the Royal Guards, and the Staff of Destruction is again sealed in the Treasure Room. All is well." he said, "You are all the honored guests of tonight's party."

Kirche smirked, "Of course" she said.

The headmaster continued, "This incident is held in high regards within the Court. You three will receive some reward from the Royal Court."

"A reward from the Royal Court?" Kirche exclaimed, "Awsome."

Confused, Louise stepped forward.

"'You three?' you mean there's nothing for Kiero?"

The headmaster closed his eyes, "Regrettably, he is not a Noble" he said.

"But it was him who captured Fouquet in the first place!" she tried to argue.

"Ms. Valliére," the headmaster sighed, "this is the Royal Court's decision. In the eyes of the Court, Kiero is only a commoner. As such they plan to give him no reward for his efforts."

"I see" was all she could say.

_He saved us from Fouquet, he deserves something… why does the Royal Court only give rewards to nobles?_

* * *

Later that night the Ball of Frigg was held, with Louise, Kriche and Tabitha as the guests of honor.

With his arm in a sling, Kiero stood out on one of the balconies drinking a glass of wine.

Earlier, one of the students had approached him. Asking if he could play another song on the violin for him and his date to dance to, however, after seeing his broken arm the youth apologized and left.

Now he was out here, enjoying his drink and thinking about the day's events.

The music suddenly quieted from inside.

A fanfare was heard and someone announced, "Duke Valliére's daughter, Mademoiselle Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Valliére has made her presence."

Hearing this, Kiero turned to see Louise, in all her glory, walk up the stairs into the Ball Room.

"She was wearing a white dress with light pink ruffles that complimented her hair. Around her neck was a golden broach and a golden clip held her hair up in a ponytail. On her arms she wore white silk gloves that reach up almost to her shoulders. Hanging from her ears were pearl earrings.

Kiero watched as she walked towards him, ignoring all the invitations to dance from the guys she passed, until she finally reached where he stood.

Kiero looked down at her, all eyes were on them.

"W-What are you doing standing there so foolishly?" she asked him, a blush appearing on her face, though he couldn't be sure.

"What do you mean 'standing here foolishly'?" he asked her, "What else am I supposed to do?"

The lights dimmed and music started, the other students began dancing.

"Aren't you going to dance?" he asked her.

Louise stood there for a moment before raising her hand towards him.

"I guess… You can have the pleasure of dancing with me" she said turning her head to the side.

He indicated his broken arm, saying "I can't very well dance with this."

Louise sighed, then looked at him straight in the eyes, reddish-brown meeting earthy green.

"Please, just for today…" she said.

Then she curtsied, going on to say "Will you be honored to dance at least once song with me, gentleman?"

He looked at her, stunned.

_What happened to the stubborn little noble girl from before? Before the Fouquet incident she'd never do something like this… well, there was that kiss, but still!_

Better enjoy this nicer Louise while he had the chance.

"I accept your invitation, Ms. Valliére" he said, giving her a bow then taking her hand.

The two of them went out on the floor and began dancing with the rest of the students.

* * *

It was awkward at first, with his arm in a sling, but they eventually got into the rhythm.

He was a good dancer.

As if seeing her surprise, Kiero smiled at her.

"Back in my world I used to go to a few upper-class parties such as this. As such, I had to learn to be proficient at dancing" he told her.

Not wanting to look him in the eyes, Louise lowered he head, staring at his broken arm.

"Hey…"

"Hmm?"

"Does your arm hurt?" she asked.

"A little, not too much" he said, "Though I do wonder how it happened."

Looking up at him, she asked "You mean you don't remember?"

"No, the last thing I can recall was getting hit by that golem. Why, what happened?"

"You went crazy and completely destroyed the golem, then you almost killed Fouquet choking her!"

"I did?!" he asked, surprised.

After a couple moments of silence, "Did we catch Fouquet?" he asked.

"Yeah, turns out it was the headmaster's secretary, Ms. Longueville" she said.

"I thought so."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, she was the only one with green hair. I noticed that the thief had green hair as well, it was kind of obvious. I simply put two and two together" he explained.

When she thought about it, he was right. Ms. Longueville was the only one she knew with green hair.

Her familiar was so smart.

Louise blushed, the two of them dancing through the night.

* * *

**AN:**

**Dear Readers,**

**Hey, I got another chapter done.**

**So, Fouquet's golem, eh?**

**And the first hintings at Gandolfr powers.**

**Plus, Kiero may have broken Louise of her stubbornness.**

**The way I see it, Saito could have done so earlier if he had been more aggressive.**

**Also, a couple more hints of Kiero's life before being summoned in here.**

**May the story go on!**

**Sincerely,**

**Blegh**


	7. Chapter 7

Two months later they received a summons to the Royal Palace.

Apparently the Princess wanted to talk to them in private.

They were in the throne room, standing before Henrietta.

Louise gave a standing bow while the Princess stood to address her.

"Congratulations, Louise Françoise" she said, walking towards them.

"It is too much to be given the court title of Chevalier" Louise responded.

"You have done a task worthy of the title. To capture the thief who has been tormenting the castle."

"Well, actually it was thanks to my familiar, Kiero here. Without him we would have likely met out end at the hands of Fouquet" Louise mentioned, elbowing him in the side.

"Yes, thank you too, dependable Mr. Kiero" Henrietta said, addressing him directly.

"No problem and just Kiero is fine" he said.

"Please continue to take good care of my important friend from here after" said Henrietta, raising her hand towards him.

Seeing the princess' hand, Louise freaked out.

"You shouldn't, Princess!" she cried, throwing herself to stand between him and Henrietta.

"To offer your hand to this… this…"

"This… what?" he asked her in an annoyed voice.

Then the Princess spoke "To ask to protect you is the same as asking him to swear his loyalty to me, and that loyalty must have a place for its reward."

Seeing that her argument would be useless Louise stood aside.

Kiero then stepped forward, taking the Princess' hand in his.

Raising it slowly, he placed a light kiss on the back.

Henrietta smiled.

She then became serious, "I have a favor to ask you" she said.

"Yes, ask of us anything, your Highness" Louise said.

"I would like for you two to live in town for a while."

"In town?" he asked.

The princess pulled out a scroll held closed by a red sting from a nearby dresser; handing it to Louise, she said "This is a Royal Court issued certification of status."

Louise took the document, "Are you asking us to place surveillance on the town?" she asked.

"Recently, I've been hearing rumors of some Noble's oppression of Commoners" Henrietta lowered her head and continued, "When I ask about it from my peers, they claim that Nobles are a model example for the Commoners, so it is not possible."

"My people had the same problem" Kiero spoke up.

Henrietta turned to him, "Your people?" she asked.

"Yeah, where I came from, before Louise summoned me, Nobles oppressed the commoners as you say. And because the Royal family did nothing to stop it the commoners eventually rebelled. Overthrowing the Royalty and Nobles, establishing a government they ran themselves."

"A government… run by commoners, could such a system even work?" Henrietta asked.

"I worked very well in fact. If the people had any problem, such as what is going on here, then they could go to the people they had elected as their leaders."

"What happened to the Royal Family?"

"Unfortunately, in most cases, the entire family was killed."

"That sounds horrible!"

"Thankfully, I one place the people let the Royalty survive, their position became an honorary one with little power. The people put together a Court, much like your Royal Court, but with less power; as its members were elected by the people every couple of years. I believe it was called Parliament."

"Such a system sounds… interesting. If we continue to have problems between the Nobles and Commoners I might mention this to my peers. Now back to the matter at hand, I want you two to investigate this matter in town. It is a very difficult task, but…"

"I accept, Princess!" Louise interrupted happily, "Even if I need to devout my entire life to it, I will accomplish this task."

* * *

"Thank you!" called the store clerk, as they stepped out.

They had gone shopping for clothes; Louise's academy uniform would give away her position as a noble.

The Princess had made it clear that this was supposed to be a secretive mission; no one was supposed to know that Louise was a noble.

That's how she found herself in a plain black dress and sandals.

Now she looked like any normal commoner.

But no matter how much she looked the part, if she couldn't act the part then anyone could tell she was a noble in commoner's clothes.

Kiero, however, fit perfectly into the role.

He had exchange his odd looking sweater and leggings for a green tunic, to match his eyes, tan leggings and a pair of leather boots.

"Very plain" Louise commented.

"This was your idea" he told her.

"But don't you think it'll be fine to have better clothes?" she pouted.

"No."

"What? Why?"

"The Princess said we had to fit in. This is fitting in."

"Fine then, next we should get horses…" Louise said, walking down the street.

"Why do we need horses, if we're not leaving town we can walk wherever we need to." Kiero said, following close behind her.

"With our own horse we could-"

_**"… … … … …"**_

Kiero stopped paying attention to Louise when he felt something nearby.

"Huh?"

"Hey! Why'd you stop?!" Louise yelled at him.

"I feel something over there" he said, pointing down one of the alleys.

"'Feel' what?" she asked him suspiciously.

"I don't know, some kind of… hole, sucking up the magic."

"And how can you 'feel' this hole?"

"I'm not sure; I've never been able to feel anything like this before. Though in a world saturated with so much magic it's pretty obvious. Come on, let's check it out" he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her along.

A ways down the alley they found themselves in front of a building.

"Are you sure this is the where it's coming from?" Louise asked.

"I'm sure."

"Looks like a weapons shop," Louise let out a sigh, "we came this far, might as well go in."

When they entered the store a stout man came out from a storage space in the back to greet them.

"Ah, yes, hello there! Are you here to buy a weapon perhaps?" the man asked.

"No, just looking for now" Kiero said, looking around at the weapons hanging from the walls.

There were swords, daggers, maces and pole arms of every size and make.

"You know," said the store keeper, "I've heard it's a recent fad at the castle to equip the underlings with weapons."

Kiero raised an eyebrow at the man.

"Feel free to look around, everything is of the highest quality, I assure you" the clerk said.

"Just what kind of 'high quality' is this?" Louise asked, sounding disgusted.

"I'm the very meaning of the term 'high quality' Shorty!" he heard someone say.

Kiero turned to look at who Louise was talking to.

Instead he found her glaring at a rusted looking sword in her hands.

"S-Shorty!" she stammered in anger.

_That sword…_

"Hey! That's it!" he called.

"What?" she asked as he ran over to her and took the sword from her.

"This is the cause of the hole in magic" he told her.

The shopkeeper suddenly yelled angrily, "Derf! Do not say such impolite things to my customers!"

"Derf?" Kiero asked, looking at the sword.

"Customer? A customer that can't wield a sword? You've got to be kidding me" a voice suddenly said, coming from the sword. The hilt guard moving slightly, similar to a mouth.

"Could it be… that this is a sentient sword?" asked Louise.

"That's right, lady" said the clerk, "It's a sentient, magical, intelligent sword. I wonder what kind of mage could make a sword speak… but it's got a rotten tongue, always arguing with my customers. Hey, Derf! Keep up the insolence and I'll ask this noble here to melt you!"

"Sounds good to me!" the sword yelled, "I'd like to see you try it! I'm kinda tired of this world. I'd love to be melted down!"

"Fine! Then I'll melt you down!" the clerk yelled back, approaching.

Kiero raised a hand to stop him.

"How much is the sword?" he asked the clerk.

"You can't possibly be thinking of buying that thing, can you?" Louise asked him.

"Eh… 100 will do" the clerk said.

"Isn't that a bit cheap?" asked Louise

"For that one? I'll let you take it for cheap" the clerk said, waving his hand.

"A talking sword then, cool. Is Derf your name then?" Kiero asked the sword.

"Wrong! It's Derflinger! Remember that!" the sword said to him.

"Alright then, Louise."

"What?"

"Pay up, we've found us a new friend."

"Why do I have to pay for that… _thing_?" she asked.

"Well duh, you have all the money."

"Hah, you seem like a smart kid" the sword said, "Buy me, my friend!"

"Even the sword agrees! Come on Louise, please?" he asked, turning to her.

Sighing regrettably, Louise paid 100 coins to the clerk.

After careful counting, the clerk nodded.

"Thank you for your business!" he said as he sheathed the sword and gave it to Kiero.

"If it gets noisy, just shove it back in the scabbard, and it'll shut up" he commented as they left the store.

Kiero was busy talking to the sword as Louise led the way down the street.

"So, Derflinger, nice to meet you! My name is Kiero."

"Kiero huh? Strange name, I guess we're partners then Kiero!"

Louise just groaned.

* * *

It was almost night time and they still hadn't found a place to sleep.

"I can't believe inns cost over 200 gold a night!" Louise sighed.

"That's because you keep taking us to expensive ones" Kiero told her.

"How do you expect me to sleep in a cheap room?"

"Just like everyone else. It's not going to kill you."

Louise turned away from him, giving a small huff.

At that time someone called out to them.

"Triès bien!"

They looked at who it was.

Kiero immediately had to hold back his bile.

Standing before them, wriggling their body, was a large muscular man dressed in a pair of white heeled boots, a pair of women's bloomers and a small tight purple shirt that covered very little of his chest. He had lipstick on and his mustache was waxed.

"What a pretty face!" the man said, "It looks like you are troubled."

Louise and Kiero stared at the strange sight before them.

"As you can see," the man continued, "I am not one bit suspicious."

_Watching him, no one would believe that_ Kiero thought.

"My name is Scarron. I run an inn just beyond here" said the man, twirling around, coming right up into Kiero's face.

Kiero stared at the man angrily, eyebrow twitching slightly.

_If this wasn't our only chance at finding an inn before tonight I'd so clock you in the front teeth homo_

"You run an inn?" Louise asked.

"Yes, an inn" said Scarron, pulling away from Kiero, "Allow me to offer you a room there."

"That would be… nice" Kiero grumbled.

"BUT…" Scarron said, bouncing a finger on his lips, "I have one condition."

"Name it" requested Louise.

The man then pointed directly at her.

Louise looked back at him, confused.

* * *

"Are you listening, ladies?" Scarron asked the inn's staff.

All of which were dressed in very provocative waitress clothing.

_This is almost like Mott's place_ Kiero thought, watching from the side.

They had followed Scarron back to his in, apparently the only condition for staying was that he and Louise would be required to work there.

At the time it seemed fine, but now…

"Yes, Shopkeeper Scarron" the waitresses said, all in unison.

"No," Scarron suddenly pouted, "I'm telling you! While in shop, don't I always tell you to call me Mademoiselle?"

"Yes, my Mademoiselle!" the waitresses cheered.

"Triès bien" Scarron cooed.

_What a strange group of people…_ Kiero thought.

"Oh, the pleasure" Scarron continued, "Now, I bring good news to you fairies."

He raised a finger.

"Today, here at this Enchanting Fairy Mansion, we have a new friend! Louise! Come here!" he called.

Louise stepped out from behind shop in front of everyone.

She was wearing a similar waitress outfit as the rest of the girls. Black heels with white socks that frilled at the ankles, a white band with frills along the edges wrapped around her thigh, her dress was white as well, with frills along the edge of the short skirt and along the bust line. A black ribbon hung from where the dress met between her breasts, and she wore a black bow around her neck. In her hair was a white frilly hair band.

She stood there, looking nervous at everyone watching her dressed in such exposing clothing.

"Her father was about to sell her to pay for his gamblings, but she ran away with her older brother. She's such a pitiful child."

That was the story they had agreed appon.

"Ah, how unfortunate!" the waitresses cried, again in unison.

_Creepy_

Louise tried to smile and greet everyone.

"Lou-lou-loui, I am Louise" she stammered, "Ni-ni-ni-nice to meet you!"

"Now applaud!" said Scarron.

Everyone clapped for Louise.

Louise stood there, eye twitching.

_So Louise had to be a waitress,_ Kiero looked down at the apron he was wearing, _and I have to wash dishes_

"Hey, newcomer," called the only other help he would be getting in the kitchen, "please help with the dishes."

This girl was dressed much more like a proper waitress, with a green dress and a white apron around her waist. In her long black hair was a white bandana.

"We're already about to open" she said.

He walked over and continued to help wash dishes with the woman.

"You have a cute little sister" she commented.

"Yeah" he said.

The girl suddenly gave him a suspicious look, "I'm Jessica, and you are?" she asked.

"My name is Kiero."

"Kiero?" Jessica asked, "That's a strange name."

"Yeah, I been getting that a lot lately" he said, rolling his eyes.

"Nice to meet you Kiero" she said, "If there's anything you need to know about the shop feel free to ask me."

"I will."

* * *

Meanwhile, Louise was watching him and Jessica.

_What are those two talking about? _she wondered.

"Now everyone!" Scarron called out, "Now that I've introduced the new face, let me announce what you all have been waiting for, the Tip Race Week!"

All the waitresses began freaking out with joy.

"Tip Race?" Louise whispered to herself.

"The Fairy that gains the most amount of tips by the end of the week," Scarron continued, "will not only get a special bonus, but…"

Scarron then pull a rope, which in turn raised the curtain behind him, revealing a waitress costume much like the others. Only it was black with pink frills and had long, knee-high, stockings for the legs.

To Louise, it almost sparkled.

"This treasure has been passed down for generations and is the origin to the name of this shop…" Scarron explained, "The winner will have the privilege to wear this Enchanting Fairy Bustier for one day!"

"Realy? My Mademoiselle?" the waitresses cooed, blushes across all of their faces.

"Très bien" Scarron said, hugging himself.

"On this Bustier a spell has been cast to capture a person's fascination" he continued, "So the day you wear this you can gain as many earnings as you wish."

"Gain as many earnings as you wish?" Louise gasped.

Scarron went on, "The girl who won last year earned so much that she retired back to her hometown. Everyone, do your best so you can wear this too!"

"YES!" the waitresses cheered.

_If I win that I could make as much money as I want or maybe I could use that dress to get Kiero to notice me_ Louise thought, _Wait, why am I thinking such things!_

"You too, newcomer" Scarron called to her, drawing her out of her mental meanderings.

"Heh… yes!" she said.

_It's my chance!_ She thought.

* * *

It was late into the night, and things were in full swing at the shop.

The place was packed with people, mostly men, all having a good time.

Louise carried a bottle of wine to a nearby table.

"I have brought you the item you have ordered" she said to the man sitting there in the cutest voice she could muster.

"What are you doing, sister?" the man asked her, "Hurry up and serve me."

_A Noble like me pouring a glass for a commoner? _She thought, eyebrow twitching.

_I know Kiero said not to let myself be stubborn, and this is for the princess; but that was when we were in danger! Not something like this!_

"What are you doing," the man said, getting impatient, "hurry it up."

"This is my mission… this is my mission…" she repeated silently to herself, before putting on a big smile.

"Then allow me to gladly pour you some!" she said.

She shakily began to fill the man's glass, accidentally overfilling it.

"What are you doing?!" the man yelled, as wine poured all over the floor.

Pulling away, Louise apologized.

"Huh?" the man said, as if noticing something, "You're pretty cute. But it's too bad your breasts are small."

_W-What?!_ Louise screamed in her mind.

The man was obviously drunk.

"How about we say you give this to me mouth-to-mouth for an apology!" he said, indicating the full glass.

Outraged, Louise grabbed the glass and threw its contents in the man's face.

"What are you doing, brat?!" he yelled at her.

Louise slammed her foot up on the table, other leg on a chair, almost giving the man a shot at her panties.

"Y-y-you, lowlife" Louise stammered, hand pointing accusingly at the man, "H-ho-how can you ask a Du-Du-Du-Duchess to…"

The man looked up at her confused for a second, before a pair of large, hairy, arms wrapped around his neck.

He struggled to see whose arms they were.

He was met with the face of the shopkeeper, Scarron.

"Oh? I'm sorry" Scarron apologized, "She's still new and isn't used to this."

Turning to her, he asked "Louise, can you bring a new drink?"

"Yes!" she said, before hoping off the chair and running off.

"As an apology, I'll give you the finest service" Scarron said to the man, who was freaking out more by the second at the strange shopkeeper.

"No, wait! No!" he screamed.

The rest of the customers watched in horror.

* * *

That night Louise was complaining to Kiero about the day.

"You've got to be kidding me!" she almost yelled, "Wh-Why does the daughter of the Duke need to… d-d-d-d-do…"

"Be quite, others are here trying to get some sleep, and we should do the same" Kiero said, taking the extra blanket and pillow and laying them out on the floor next to the bed.

"I can't sleep here!" she continued, "I mean look at this place. It isn't a room, it storage space in the attic!"

"It's the best we could get. So go to bed, I'm tired and I don't want to listen to you complain all night."

"At least you're doing well, off talking to that one girl cheerfully" she said, glaring at him.

"Her name is Jessica; I'm helping her with dishes while you're out serving the customers. That's it, no need to get jealous."

"I-I'm not jealous! Who would be jealous?!" she stammered, "Foremost, are you planning to allow a Noble like me to sleep in a place like this?"

"Yup," he said without skipping a beat, "it'll be a good experience for you. Might break more of that stubbornness of yours."

"How can you adapt so easily?" she questioned him.

Lying down he answered her, "My dad always told me to be prepared; it's a motto I live by."

He then reached over and put out the lamp, rolling over and quickly falling asleep.

Founder, he really _was_ tired.

Louise pulled her own blankets over her, staring blankly at the ceiling.

She rolled to the side to look at Kiero.

_He makes this look so easy, _she thought, _if he can do it then I should too!_

Her mind was quiet for a moment.

_Really, does he not care that I'm being forced to dress like that? He should at least a little…_

Suddenly, Louise heard a small squeaking sound.

Rising quickly, she looked for the source.

Up in the corner of the room a couple of bats hung from the ceiling.

Suddenly, they flew at her, flapping their wings in her face.

She screamed, and without thinking jumped from her bed into Kiero's.

_Why do I have to…_ she thought, her face blushing as she snuggled against him.

* * *

The rest of the week continued just as poorly.

Louise poured a whole bottle of wine on a man's head when he insulted her sexiness.

She slapped silly another man who tried to grope her breasts.

"Louise, stay here and observe the other girls" Scarron told her, indicating the corner of the room, next to the bar.

"I'm sorry…" she apologized.

Scarron turned away, "Welcome!" he called to another customer.

Louise looked around at the other waitresses.

_Why do I have to wear such an embarrassing outfit and flirt around?_ She wondered.

"On top of that, to be called small or flat as a pancake…" she grumbled to herself.

She then looked to the side to see Kiero and that Jessica girl talking to each other.

_Yes, he's taken quite a liking to that girl!_

Her gaze drifted to Jessica's breasts.

_So it's her breasts? It's all about the breasts here, isn't it!_

* * *

Meanwhile Kiero learned that Jessica was Scarron's daughter… somehow?

"It's true" Jessica said to him, "I'm the manager of this scene."

"For a man like that to find a woman?!" he gasped, surprised, "Are you sure you're not adopted or something?"

"Nope, he's my father alright. Say, Louise isn't your sister is she?"

"Excuse me? I don't know what you're talking about."

"I can tell just by looking."

"Is that why you gave me that suspicious look the other day?"

"Yup, so you aren't siblings. But it doesn't seem like you're lovers either…"

Kiero let out a small coughing fit, "I-I beg your pardon, Louise and I are not lovers."

"And Louise is a Noble, isn't she?"

Before he could answer, however, Kiero thought he heard something from behind him.

_**"… … … … …"**_

He turned around to see a beer bottle flying at him.

With no time to use psynergy, he ducked instead, the bottle smashing against the wall.

Standing back up, he looked to see Louise in the direction the bottle came from.

"What the hell Louise!"

"What are _you_ doing?!" she yelled at him, "F-Flirting with that girl and her b-b-breasts!"

"Wait a second, Louise" Jessica called, "We were just talking, no need to get so worked up."

"I'm not getting worked up" Louise claimed.

"Forget about that," Jessica said, "shouldn't you be working. How are you going to win the Bustier is you can't even get a decent tip?" she sighed, "I guess it can't be helped with those meager…"

"What, what?!" Louise exclaimed, hands crossing over her breasts, "Just because I have smaller breasts stop calling me a kid, and petty!"

"Louise," Kiero said to her, "she didn't say anything about your breasts. Besides, it's not about the look. It's about the attitude, so stop being selfish."

"I'm not selfish, just you watch. You'll be amazed if I took this seriously!"

"Is that so? Then, there's no doubt that you'll win the Tip Race we're doing right now?" Jessica challenged.

"Of course!" Louise accepted.

"Louise…" Kiero sighed.

* * *

It was the last day of the Tip Race, and Louise had not gotten a single tip.

"At this rate not only will I not be first…" Louise groaned to herself.

The door opened then, letting in a _very_ rotund man in a green suit and red cape, indicating he was a noble. He had short bushy hair and a pencil thin mustache. Behind him was a number of sly looking guards.

"Oh my, oh my, its Mr. Turène" called Scarron, walking over toward the man nervously, "Welcome!"

"It seems everything is thriving quite lively here" the man, Turène, said.

"No, no" Scarron said, trying to show respect to the man, "Today is just exceptional."

The other waitresses looked on worriedly.

"During the day," Scarron went on, "it's regretfully empty…"

"I don't need to hear excuses" Turène interrupted, "I came here as a customer today."

"Unfortunately, the shop is full" Scarron tried to explain.

"I doesn't seem like it to me…" Turène said, giving a snap of his pudgy fingers.

The guards that followed him in then raised their staffs threateningly.

All the customers in the shop stood and regretfully left under the smirking looks of Turène and his men.

Despite this, Louise saw this as her chance.

_He looks filthy rich, _she thought, _if I serve him I should get a generous tip. I might even be able to pull off first place with this_

Turène went over and sat at a now empty table, his large stomach jiggling as he did so.

"It seems you were telling the truth how regretfully empty this place is" he mocked.

He let out a laugh.

Looking around, he suddenly complained, "Hey, why is there no one serving the tax collector of Her Highness?"

* * *

"Who the fat ass jerk over there?" Kiero asked Jessica.

"He's the tax collector of this area, Turène" she answered, "If you go against him, he puts heavy taxes on you; so no one doing business can go against him."

He looked over to where the man sat, smacking his hands on the table and calling for a waitress.

"He touches you all over," Jessica went on, "and doesn't leave a single tip. There isn't a girl that would serve him."

_Sounds like this is the guy the Princess sent us to look for_ he thought.

Then he saw one of the waitresses walking over to the table carrying a tray with a glass and a bottle of wine.

"Louise?!" Jessica gasped.

* * *

Indeed it was Louise.

"Mister, you are quiet lovely" she complimented.

Turène looked at her curiously, and then took a glance at her breasts.

Disappointed, he turned to Scarron, "Is this shop allowing a_ boy_ to work here now?" he asked.

"Boy?!" Louise exclaimed, jerking up.

Turène laughed at her, "If I look closer it was just a girl with small breasts" he jabbed.

"Since you were so flat, I thought you were a boy" he went on, resting his chin on his hands.

"Here," he said, reaching out at Louise with one of his hands, "let me confirm how big they are…"

Louise gave him a cute smile.

Then yelled, "Are you kidding me!" while planting her foot right in the man's face.

He fell backwards onto the floor.

The other waitresses screamed, and Scarron looked horrified.

"Wha-what?" Turène gasped from the floor, "You…"

His guards stood up behind him.

"Foul fiend!" one called her.

"How dare you, commoner!" another yelled.

"For-forgive her!" Scarron begged, trying to salvage the situation, "She's still new!"

"Shut up!" Turène yelled, getting up off the floor and flipping the table he was sitting at, "How dare she?!"

He was then knocked back to the ground when Kiero appeared, punching him in the face.

Louise look at him surprised as he stood between Turène and her.

"Kiero?" she asked.

Turène got back up for the second time, glaring at them he yelled, "How dare you, laying such filthy hands on a Noble, and her, to kick the face of a Noble?!"

"Your point fat ass!" Kiero yelled back.

"Wh-what?!" Turène fumed.

"Your status as a Noble doesn't give you the right to push around Louise like that, or any commoner for that matter!"

"Seize these two now!" Turène called to his guards, who raised their staffs and swords.

Kiero glared around at Turène and his guards.

Sure he could use psynergy, but there were quite a few of them, and if one of them was a fire mage then he wouldn't be able to protect himself or Louise.

Plus he didn't think Derf would be of much use, he looked intimidating with him on his back, but he didn't think he could wield him properly. Besides, he preferred to fight with his hands; he bought Derf mostly for companionship.

He glared back at Turène as the man yelled out, "Seize him and that washboard girl!"

The guards rushed them.

*BOOM*

An explosion rocked the shop, knocking Turène and his guards down for a third time.

As the dust cleared Kiero looked over to find Louise standing atop a table, wand in hand.

"I think 'washboard' is a bit too much" she declared.

_Did she have that on her the whole time?_ He wondered, looking at her wand.

"When I go through all that to serve," Louise ranted on, "why do I have to take this crap?"

_Normally I'd chastise her for acting like that, but..._

"You, you are… a Noble?" Turène gasped from the floor.

"I don't have a name to give to a petty government officer like you" Louise countered, "Before you regret it, silently withdraw from here!"

Regaining his composure, Turène raised his staff at her, "You must be a ruined Noble" he said, "Who do you think I am?"

In response to his question, Louise pulled out the document the Princess had given her.

Seeing the document, Turène lost his voice.

"Who's a ruined Noble?" Louise asked triumphantly.

"A certificate from the Royal Court?" Turène gasped, bowing to the floor.

His guards quickly did the same.

"Please," Turène begged, reaching into his pocket to pull out a bag of coins, "can you look the other way about this? I beg you!"

"Listen," Louise addressed, "forget everything you heard and saw here."

"Ye-yes!" they all agreed.

"I will not give an account of your presence here, your Excellency!" Turène went on to say.

He and his guards then ran out the door and down the street.

The customers who were kicked out earlier and stuck around let out a cheer.

After he left the waitresses came over and began praising Louise.

"That was amazing, Louise!" one said.

"To chase out that perverted imp, you're the best!" another exclaimed.

As the waitresses swarmed her Louise looked over to where Kiero stood.

He smiled at her and gave a thumbs up, causing her to blush.

"You're number one!" Jessica called out.

Looking over they could see her standing next to a pile of the bags the Noble and his guards left.

"There's no use counting it" she said.

"But they just left it here" Louise said as she walked over.

"They left it here," Jessica said, raising a finger," so it must be a tip. Right, Papa?"

"Oui," Scarron agreed, "the winner of the Tip Race is Louise!"

Every one of the waitresses, including Kiero applauded at the declaration.

* * *

Later that night, Kiero was packing their things.

"Now that we've found the noble that was oppressing the commoners we should go report to the palace. Besides, with our cover blown we should leave anyway" he said.

When he noticed that Louise wasn't helping he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Don't look" she told him.

"What do you mean 'don't look'?" he asked, "There's nothing there that I haven't already seen from that time you changed right in front of me!"

Louise then stepped out from behind the closet door dressed in the Bustier that was given to Louise for winning the Tip Race.

Kiero gasped.

_What the hell is going on here?!_ He thought, _what kind of spell is on that thing?!_

As he looked at her, he didn't see Louise.

Gone was the pink hair and reddish-brown eyes.

In their place were shoulder length purple hair and amethyst eyes.

_What the hell?! But she's dead; I saw her die in my arms!_

Kiero was freaking out.

He began screaming, "Take that cursed thing off Louise! Take if off now!"

Seeing him freak out, Louise panicked.

She quickly went back into the closet and changed back into her plain black dress.

When she came out again he let out a sigh.

"Please Louise, don't ever put that thing on again…"

"Wh-why?" she asked.

"I don't know what kind of spell was placed on that thing, but it made you look just like someone I knew. And she's dead" he answered.

"Was it that same person that taught you to play the violin?"

"Yeah."

"Oh…" Louise said, understanding, "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it, it was an accident."

Louise lowered her head in disappointment; she had been hoping to impress him with the Bustier and didn't expect his reaction.

_What kind of past must he have had to make him freak out like that?_ She thought, _just how important is that girl he keeps talking about to him? I wonder what kind of person she was?_

* * *

**AN:**

**Dear Readers,**

**My fingers are about to have a seizure, so i'll try to make this quick.**

**I have nothing against Homosexuals, the person i look up to is a lesbian and just got married to the love of her life.**

**What I don't like is people being over the top flamboyant.**

**Second, I believe in realistic actions and behaviors. **

**A familiar who says and does all the right things like an uber-prince is a big N-O.**

**While Kiero isn't a complete idiot like Saito, he isn't perfect.**

**Finally, I love the symbols function on my word processor, it's made people's names so much easier.**

**That is all.**

**Sincerely,**

**Bleahrgadjvmvhjaiglkas**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey kiddies!**

**That's right; it's the mighty Derflinger here!**

**Because we've hit the 1000 views milestone, this chapter is going to be told by none other than me.**

**I'll show you a few things that can only be seen by a 6000 year old sword.**

**It's Story Time!**

* * *

After we left the Enchanting Fairy Inn, we gave our report to the palace.

"Really, it was the Royal Tax Collector, Turène?" Princess asked them.

"Yes" answered Shorty

"I had guessed as much" Princess sighed, "Thank you for accomplishing this task for me, Louise Françoise, Familiar Kiero."

"It was no problem at all Princess," Partner said, "you should have been there when Louise kicked the man in the face, it was hilarious. The man had it coming too."

"Don't tell the Princess such things!" Shorty cried at Partner, a blush on her face.

Princess laughed, "I'm sure it was quite a sight, still I feel that I should reward your efforts."

"There's no need, your Highness" Shorty said.

"No, I insist" Princess went on, "You may feel free to keep that document from the Royal Court, Louise. As for you Kiero, I found your political ideals very intriguing; as such I will grant you a position amongst my personal advisors."

Shorty and Partner's mouths gaped open.

"I-I beg your pardon?" Partner finally asked.

"Although the position is only a sub-assistant advisory position, and no title or power comes from it. It will allow me an excuse to come visit Louise, as a bonus you will receive a small deposit of 50 New Gold per month" Princess explained, "It's the least I can do for you, protecting my friend here means so much to me."

"T-Thank you, Princess" Partner said, bowing.

"The position doesn't exist on paper, and you'll be receiving your pay by owl" Princess explained, "The arrangements have already been made with Mr. Osman."

Princess then dismissed them.

As they left, Partner turned towards Shorty.

"Do you know what this means Louise?" he asked.

Without waiting for an answer he went on "This means you won't have to buy things for me anymore."

"I only bought you two things so far, those clothes and that stupid talking sword" Shorty said.

Popping out of my sheath, I yelled at her "Who are you calling stupid, Shorty?! Can't you see how legendary I am?! Legendary I say!"

"You have yet to prove that you are indeed legendary Derf" Partner said.

_Alas… Partner has already betrayed my_ I thought.

Turning back to Shorty, Partner went on to say "With this I can buy more clothes, or even cleaning gear for Derf."

_He has betrayed me yet! I knew I could trust my Partner_

"Fine by me," Shorty said, "now let's get back to the academy. I've seen enough of this place."

* * *

A while later we reached a place that looked like an academy.

Riding on horseback we entered a courtyard.

Because Partner was leading the reins there wasn't room between him and Shorty for me to hang from his back. As such I was strapped to the side of the animal.

Looking around, Partner asked "It's pretty empty here, where did everybody go?"

"It's summer vacation, most of the students probably went home for the holiday or are traveling" Shorty answered.

"What are our plans then?" Partner asked.

"Nothing, I have to study to make up for lost time when you were in the hospital" she declared.

We then came across a carriage near the entrance of the building; standing next to it was a red haired girl, with large breasts, and a short blue haired girl with glasses.

"Hey Louise" Breasts called to us, "I thought you went home already, since I haven't seen you around."

"I went out for an errand" Shorty told her, "Are you all going home?"

"I'm going to visit Tabitha's home" Breasts clarified.

"Tabitha's?" Shorty questioned, looking at Glasses, who was climbing into the carriage.

"Well, have a nice summer vacation" Breasts cheered, climbing into the carriage as well.

"Later guys" Partner told them.

After the carriage left, Partner stabled the horse and we went into the building.

Eventually we entered what looked like a bed room.

_Is this where Partner stayed with Shorty? _I wondered, _Oho, there's only one bed. I see they're that close already then_

Partner then carried my over to a pile of hay in the corner of the room and set my on the floor.

_Wait… is this where Partner sleeps? Never mind then, guess they're not as close as I thought. That time at the inn really had me going_

Shorty then said she was going to go take a bath, and that she expected Partner to wash her clothes and clean the room. With that she left.

Partner went around the room straightening everything, then he gathered the clothes from their trip.

As he walked out the door I called to him, "Hey, take me with. I want to talk to you."

Partner stopped, then came back to sling me over his shoulder.

As he walked through the halls I asked him, "So why are you letting Shorty order you around like that?"

Partner smiled and said, "It's not that bad, when I first came here it was much worse. She tried to make me not only do the laundry and clean the room, but also dress here and make me sit on the floor like some dog. Now things are bearable, it keeps me busy and pays for itself with room and board"

Curious, I asked "Room and board?"

"A place to sleep and food to eat" Partner explained.

"Oh" I said.

We had reached one of the side courtyards when we heard someone yelling.

"What are you talking about?" a blond boy cried to a blond girl with freckles, "This is a misunderstanding!"

"I am tired of hearing that excuse!" Freckles chastised Blondie.

"Listen, Guiche" she said, "I have no feelings for you at all, I am with you because you begged me!"

Blondie looked surprised for a moment, and then tried to talk to Freckles, "Montmorency, please will you calm down, and hear me out?"

Giving a huff Freckles stormed past Blondie.

As Freckles approached us she noticed Partner standing there.

"I thought Louise went back home?" she asked.

"No, we were in town for a while" Partner answered.

"Please wait!" Blondie cried, reaching for Freckles.

"Don't follow me!" she yelled, before storming off into the building we had just left.

"Wait!" Blondie cried, running off after her, "Montmorency! Please hear me out!"

"Well those two are a strange couple, aren't they?" I asked Partner.

"From what I've heard, Guiche is quite the ladies man. He constantly gets in trouble with Montmorency for flirting with other girls" Partner explained.

"Like you and Shorty?" I asked, trying to get a scoop of their relationship status.

After six thousand years the only past time I found was watching other people relationships.

"I do not flirt with other girls" Partner declared, "Besides, Louise is just my friend; nothing more."

"She certainly doesn't treat you like a friend" I pointed out.

Walking over to a nearby fountain, Partner continued to explain "Well it's more like a partnership. She saved my life by summoning me as her familiar so I owe her my life."

"Sounds complicated" I lied.

Suddenly partner stopped, noticing something.

Looking at what he spotted, I saw a large metal pot over in the corner of the courtyard.

"What's that?" Partner asked.

We then went to the nearby kitchens where Partner asked a chef about the pot.

"I put it there with the intention of throwing it out" Chef explained.

"If you plan on throwing it out can I use it then?" Partner asked.

"Oh sure!" Chef said, patting Partner on the back, "Take it if you'd like."

"Thanks" Partner said, leaving the kitchens.

When we reached the pot again, Partner was looking at it as if thinking about how best to move it.

Then he waved at it, to my surprise the pot actually lifted off the ground into the air.

"Whoa, Partner, you never said you could use magic!" I gasped.

"It's similar to magic," Partner explained, "the same basic concept anyway."

_That looks a lot like the Nature Magic the elves use_

Partner then moved the tub to a fountain on the wall across the courtyard.

"What are you going to do with this huge pot anyway?" I asked Partner.

"Well I've gotten sick of using cold water to wash clothes. I thought I could use this pot to heat water to wash in" Partner explained, "Plus I may come in handy if I decide to take a private bath."

"I never would have thought to use a cooking pot like that" I said.

Getting the pot filled with water from the fountain took an hour, due to the lack of a proper bucket.

Partner then gathered firewood from the kitchens and started a fire under the pot.

As we waited for the water to heat Partner changed out of his tunic and leggings into a black and white shirt made from some soft material, his leggings were now blue and made from an even stranger material.

"What's with the strange getup Partner?" I asked.

"These are the clothes I had when Louise summoned me. These are the only two pairs of clothes I have right now, so I'm wearing this while I'm washing the other pair" he explained.

After an hour the water was hot and Partner dumped the clothes into the pot.

As Partner was washing clothes I noticed a maid that had passed by a couple of times before, looking over at them each time, was walking over to them.

"Heads up Partner" I warned.

Partner turned to regard Maid.

"Oh, hello Siesta" he said.

"Hi Mr. Kiero, what is that?" she asked.

"It's a tub I'm washing Louise and my clothes in" he explained.

"Really?" she said, leaning over to look in the pot, "I've never heard of using a kitchen pot to wash clothes."

"Neither could Derf" Partner said.

"Derf?" she asked.

"I'm Derf! It's short for Derflinger!" I said, popping out of my sheath.

Apparently I surprised the poor girl, she flipped out and fell into the pot, getting sopping wet.

"Ah, sorry!" I apologized.

"I-It's okay, you s-surprised me that's all" she stammered as Partner helped her out of the pot.

"Now you're all wet" Partner said, looking at Maid's clothing sadly.

Noticing this, Maid blushed.

"M-Maybe I could dry them off next to the fire" she suggested, unbuttoning the top of her outfit.

Suddenly my Partner put on a stern face.

"Do what you will, I need to take these clothes back to Louise" he said, gathering the still wet clothes from the pot and dropping them into the basket he had carried them out in.

He then picked basket of wet clothes and began to depart, with me on his back.

"W-Wait, those a-are still wet!" Maid called after us.

Partner ignored her.

* * *

After Partner dropped the clothes off at the laundry room for the other servants dry, we went back to Shorty's room. The whole way Partner had a sour look on his face, grumbling something along the lines of "Why would Siesta even think of suggesting something like that?!"

When we entered Shorty's room we found her sitting on the bed.

"Why are you late?" she demanded, sounding pissed.

_Is everyone in a bad mood?_ I thought.

"I was giving our clothes and _actual_ wash when that maid, Siesta came along and-" Partner began to explain, but Shorty interrupted.

"I knew it!" she yelled, "You had your sword scare that maid, forcing her to get her clothes wet!"

_Oh, she saw that, did she? She came to the wrong conclusion though, I'd like to see how this turns out_

"Wait, you were there?" Partner asked, "Why didn't you saw anything?"

"What was there to ask," Shorty went on, suddenly sounding drowsy, "you and… that maid probably had a… good… time…"

Shorty began to wobble, dangerously close to falling over.

Seeing this, Partner ran over and grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

Suddenly she reached out and grabbed Partner.

"Why did you leave me alone and spend time with her?" she cried.

_Well that was a quiet a change in attitude_ I thought.

Shorty then hugged Partner.

"Louise, what the fuck is this?" Partner asked, trying to push Shorty off to no avail.

Finally he used that mysterious power of his to force Shorty off him.

"How can you push me away like that when I love you so much Kiero!" she cried.

Partner and I were silent when we heard this.

"The fuck is with girls lately?" Partner growled.

At that time the door opened and Freckles stuck her head in.

When she saw Shorty crying she gasped, a guilty look on her face.

"Just as I expected" she said.

Hearing this, Partner stormed over to Freckles, grabbing her arm and pulling her into the room.

Blondie walked into the room behind her, he shut the door behind him.

He then took a deep breath and demanded "What the hell did you do to Louise?!"

"I-I might have made a love potion…" Freckles nervously mumbled.

"A love potion?!" Partner yelled.

"Louise drank it by mistake" Freckles said.

Partner looked over to Shorty, who was desperately clawing against Partner's magic, trying to get to him, crying the entire time.

"When that potion started kicking in," Freckles explained, "you must have been right next to her."

_A love potion eh? Aren't those illegal_ I thought.

"Mo… Montmorency," Blondie gasped, "were you trying to make me drink that?!"

Freckles blushed.

"How precious!" Blondie cried, a smile on his face, "For you to go that far to capture my heart!"

"It didn't have to be you" Freckles tried to defend, "dating is just a way to kill time."

_NO! YOU MUST NEVER __**KILL**__ TIME!_ I jokingly thought to myself.

"I just hate being chea-" Freckles went on to say before Partner interrupted her.

"I'd just _love_ to be part of your little make up session here, but we have a not so small problem here that needs to be taken care of" he said.

We all looked back at Shorty who had pulled away the covers of her bed and was now clawing at the mattress like a cat.

"How do we fix this?" Partner asked Freckles.

"The effect will wear off eventually" she said.

"I don't care if the potion will 'wear off eventually' or not, we're going to fix this now!" Partner said, "Isn't there a cure?"

"There is, but one of the ingredients is extremely rare so-"

"What is it? What's the ingredient?"

"Kiero, is that a way to talk to a No-" Blondie was saying but Partner shut the boy's trap with more magic.

"Well?" Partner asked Freckles again.

"It's a tear of a holy water spirit" she answered quickly after seeing Blondie get his mouth shut.

"Where do we get it?"

"Like I said, they're extremely rare. I doubt we could find one in the market."

"The where's the source then, they have to get them from someplace."

"W-Well, I know of a spirit nearby, but-"

"Let's go" Partner interrupted.

"What?" asked Freckles and Blondie at the same time.

"I said lets go, the quicker we take care of this the quicker I _don't_ make your lives miserable" Partner said.

_Well, I should stick with him on this. He seems pretty intent on curing Shorty, I'll help him this once_

"Hey Freckles" I spoke up.

"A-A talking sword!" she gasped.

"Yeah, I'm a talking sword" I said in a sarcastic voice, "Anyway, you do know that love potions are illegal, right?"

That sealed the deal right there, Freckles and Blondie following Partner.

Before we left however, Partner took Shorty's wand and locked the door using her key, leaving her in her own room.

"So where is this place?" Blondie asked.

"At Ragdorian Lake," Freckles answered, "on the boarder of Gallia and Germania."

"Gallia's boarder?" Blondie complained, "It will take a half day."

"Then we'd better get going" Partner said with finality.

* * *

We had taken a group of the Academy's horses to travel quickly.

However, because it was so late by this time we set up camp part way there and spent the night.

We continued our journey the next day, reaching our destination shortly before noon.

"Ragdorian Lake is just ahead of this hill" Freckles said.

"Finally," Blondie cheered, "we are able to see our destination, the Ragdorian Lake."

"Yahoo!" he cried, urging his horse onward in a gallop.

Suddenly a cry was heard and a splashing sound came from ahead.

Rushing forward we found Blondie floundering around in the water, "Help me!" he cried out.

"What is this?" gasped Freckles, "Why in the world is there water all the way up here?"

"This isn't normal?" Partner asked.

"I can feel that the holy spirit of water is upset" Freckles answered, "The water level is abnormally high."

When I took a look over Partner's shoulder I could see a whole village flooded with water.

"That's terrible, I hope the villagers made it to safety" Partner said worriedly.

"It wasn't like this when I came here as a child with my father" Freckles said, "Let's wait a while, the spirit doesn't show itself until sunset."

"Stop chatting like nothing is happening!" Blondie cried, "Can you just help me?!"

As the sun was setting, Freckles pulled her familiar out of her bag.

Hers was a small frog, quite unimpressive.

"Listen, Robin" Freckles said to her familiar.

_She named that Frog, Robin?_ I thought,_ When did names stop making sense?_

"I would like you to get in touch with an old friend" Freckles instructed Frog.

Pricking her finger and putting a small drop of blood on Frog's head, she instructed, "They should know me by this. Please deliver the message to the ancient holy spirit of water that one of her contractors wishes to speak with her."

Frog then jumped into the water and disappeared into its depths.

"If she is found," Freckles said, turning to the rest of us, "Robin will bring her out here for us. A long time ago, I came here with my father and made a contract with the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit remembers the contract, she will come."

A few seconds later the water a part ways off shore burst forth in a massive pillar of water.

"Here it comes!" Freckles yelled, she then turned to address the spirit, "I am Montmorency Margarita Lafaire de Montmorency. I am a water element magician, and also a family member of an old Noble with a contract with you. If you recognize my blood, answer us in a way we can understand."

The pillar of water then formed into a watery replica Freckles, except nude.

"I remember you" Spirit said, "You are nobody."

_Ouch_ I thought.

"I remember that," Spirit went on, "that which run through your body."

"I'm glad" Freckles responded, "Holy Spirit of water; I have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor?" Spirit asked.

"I would like for you to give me a part of your body" Freckles asked Spirit.

"I refuse, nobody" Spirit answered curtly.

Partner clenched his fist in anger.

_He must be upset, to come all this way only to be refused_

Spirit noticed this and seemed to regard Partner for a bit.

Then she spoke, "You there, Gandalfr, step forward."

Partner, Freckles and Blondie looked at one another confused.

"She taking to you, Partner" I said.

He hesitated for a second before stepping forward.

"You are no mere human, nor are you a mage" Spirit spoke to my partner, "You have many strange energies flowing through your body. You have your own energy, one that you have a deep control of. Then you have the Gandalfr runes, a foreign energy to your body, one that does not belong to you. The third comes in hand with Gandalfr, an element I thought lost a long time ago, Void."

Freckles and Blondie gasped, however, Partner nodded as if something was confirmed.

"The last energy," Spirit continued, "I cannot place. It seems to resonate from within your body but flows through the Gandalfr runes."

"Excuse me" Partner asked, "You keep saying the runes on my hand are Gandalfr, what's that?"

"You do not even know you power you steal…" Spirit said, "all weapons are the Gandalfr's allies."

Spirit was silent for a moment, then she went on, "You are an interesting mortal, I will make a deal with you. I'm too busy keeping up with the level of water. Therefore I can't handle the attackers."

"Attackers?" Freckles asked.

"Your kind has been attacking us" Spirit answered, "Defeat them."

"Who are these fearless people attacking the holy spirit of water?" Blondie demanded.

"How should I know?" Freckles responded.

"If we defeat them, will you give us your tear?" Partner asked.

"Yes" Spirit answered.

"No way!" Freckles complained, "I don't want to fight!"

"No one said _you_ would be fighting" Partner said to her, "This is my mission, I'll do this alone if I have to."

"Fine" she said.

* * *

Later that night we were lying in wait; hoping to catch the attackers by surprise.

"They have to be great magicians to be dealing with the Holy Spirit who lives at the bottom of the lake" Freckles whispered.

"That, or really smart" Partner commented.

"How do they get into the lake?" Blondie asked.

"Maybe they use a bubble?" Partner asked jokingly.

"You could very well be right" Freckles said, "Most likely, they are magicians of wind."

"Really?" Partner asked, surprised that he had guessed so close to the mark.

"If they were magicians of wind, they could use that air bubble to walk along the bottom of the lake" Freckles explained.

"Surely, these are great magicians" Blondie commented.

After a few more minutes, Blondie whispered "Someone's coming."

Looking over Partner's shoulder I could see two cloaked figures. The shorter of the two was waving a staff.

"They look like they're chanting" Freckles pointed out.

"Indeed" Blondie agreed.

Partner then began to walk off, probably looking for a place to ambush the cloaked mages from.

As we got into position Blondie came over.

"Our opponents are great magicians" he whispered to Partner, "We won't win against them if you attack head on."

"That's why I was going to ambush them" Partner whispered back, "Look, I can handle myself, but if you want to help then find a way to distract them."

"As you wish" Blondie said, taking out his wand and waving it.

A stream of earth shot from the ground at the cloaked mages, but the short one waved their staff, blowing away the soil with a whirl of wind.

More streams of earth flew at the cloaked mages, but each of them took a turn deflecting them with streams of wind and fire.

In the midst of one of Blondie's attacks was when Partner dashed out at them, much faster than I expected him to be able to run.

Seeing us the tall mage waved their wand at us, sending forth a fireball.

Partner quickly jumped to the side, avoiding the fireball.

Getting in close the mages would have a hard time keeping up with Partner and Blondie's attacks.

Suddenly, the small mage swished their staff and a wall of wind expanded around them, knocking both Partner and Blondie to the ground.

"Damn it! I can't do anything about wind magic either!" Partner yelled, getting back up.

_Partner's magic doesn't have an effect on fire or wind?_ I wondered, _In that case…_

"Draw me, Partner!" I told him, rising out of my sheath.

"What good will you do?" he asked me.

"Remember what Spirit said, all weapons are Gandalfr's allies, you _are_ Gandalfr!"

Another fireball came flying at us, forcing Partner to dive to the side again.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" he yelled.

"Draw me and find out!" I told him.

Partner then reached up and pulled me from my sheath.

The Gandalfr runes began to glow.

Partner looked at the runes for a moment, "Just like last time" I heard him whisper.

"Look out!" I warned him, seeing a whirlwind heading for us.

Partner then dashed to the side, faster than he did before.

Noticing his dramatic increase in speed, Partner bolted straight for the mages.

So fast that, before I knew it, we were behind the mages.

They looked surprised as Partner delivered a low sweep kick, knocking them to the ground.

He then held me over their heads, ready to strike.

"Who are you?!" he demanded.

"I know that voice" one of the mages said.

The shorter one then pulled back their hood.

_Glasses! She's here? Then the other is…_

Partner stepped back as the other mage sat up to pull their hood back as well.

It was Breasts.

"Kirche, Tabitha? What are you guys doing here?" Partner asked, sheathing me.

The Gandalfr runes faded.

"Tabitha was ordered by her uncle, the Gallian King, to kill the water spirit and return the water level to normal" Breasts said.

"Tabitha's royalty?" Freckles asked, running over to them.

Breasts nodded, "If she doesn't her and her sick mother will be punished, so I decided to help her. Why are you guys here trying to stop us?" she asked us.

"Montmorency here made a love potion," Partner explained, "and Louise drank it. We came here to ask the water spirit for one of her tears, she said we could have one if we stopped you."

"I see, that's why" Breasts said, "But why did you make such a dangerous thing as a love potion?" she asked Freckles.

"That's because…" Blondie began, before Freckles stomped on his foot.

"Ouch!" he screamed.

"I just wanted to make it, that's all" Freckles explained nervously.

"This is a problem" Breasts said, "We can't leave here without getting the water level back to normal. The villagers said the water level keeps rising and their land is having difficulty."

"So you have your own reason too" Blondie declared, nursing his hurting foot, "This is a difficult situation."

"Hey, Montmorency?" Partner asked, "Didn't you say the holy spirit of water was upset?"

"I did" Freckles said.

"Do you think you could summon her again so we could ask her why she's upset?"

"I… I don't see why not."

* * *

A short while later, Spirit rose before us once more, again taking the form of Freckles nude.

Stepping forward, Partner called to her, "The people were attacking you because their land is being destroyed. The attackers agreed to stop if you lowered the water levels to normal, but in order for that to happen we need to know why you are upset!"

After a moment Spirit answered, "Your kind has stolen our secret treasure that has been protected."

"A secret treasure?" Freckles asked.

"I can only exist within water" Spirit went on, "Therefore, if I were to fill this world with water, I could get that secret treasure back."

"If we searched for this treasure for you would you lower the water levels?" Partner asked Spirit, "Tell us, what is the name of your secret treasure."

"The Ring of Andvari" Spirit answered, "It is the ring that has been with me all this time."

"Andvari…" Freckles whispered, "I've heard of it before. It's a magic item used to give a fake soul."

"What did they look like?" Breasts asked Spirit.

"The one was called Cromwell" Spirit answered, "That is all I know."

"So if we promise to find him and bring your ring back, will you lower the water?" Partner asked.

"Give it up" Blondie said, placing a hand on Partner's shoulder "Who would take you up on your promise? You are a human who suddenly appeared and is not even a Noble."

"Spirits are immortal aren't they?" Partner countered, "If we fail to bring the ring, then she can just assume we're dead after a hundred years, and start filling the world again. A hundred year set back should be nothing to her."

After considering it for a long time, Spirit finally answered.

"Yes" she said.

"What?!" Blondie gasped.

Partner nodded, "It's a promise" he said.

A small vile floated out from Spirit to be caught by Blondie.

"Tears of the Holy Spirit?!" Freckles exclaimed.

"But why?" Blondie asked.

"You give a very valid argument, Gandalfr" Spirit said, "If you do fail me, I will not only flood the world in my search for my ring, but you as well. Do well to not forget your promise."

"I won't" Partner said, smiling.

Spirit then disappeared into the lake once more.

* * *

After a long adventure we finally managed to cure Shorty of the love potion using the tears from Spirit.

"What is this?!" Shorty screamed, blushing as her memories returned, "I'll be ashamed for the rest of my life!"

"Thank god things are back to normal" Partner sighed, holding Shorty back with his magic.

"I can't believe I did this at that!" Shorty screamed again.

"Whatever, you were under the effects of a love potion. No one blames you Louise" Partner said.

"Shut up!" Shorty screamed, swinging her fists futilely in his direction.

"I'm not letting you go until you calm down Louise, and I'm not returning your wand either."

Suddenly the window burst open, and in came flying a very familiar cloaked figure.

"You guys are having fun as usual" the figure said, lifting their hood to reveal themselves.

"Princess?!" Shorty gasped.

* * *

**And that is the story of how Partner saved Shorty from the clutches of an evil love potion.**

**My Partner sure is amazing, though he's not yet as legendary as me!**

**Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go teach Excalibur a lesson on who the REAL legendary sword is, there can only be one!**

**Stay tuned for more chapters!**


	9. Update

Dear Readers,

Hey everyone, in case you didn't hear/read, I'm out working a job most of every week this summer before college. I only get weekends off to come back to civilization.

As such there will be a stretch in the updating period.

I hope this doesn't anger anyone who likes this story so far.

I'd also like to say that I've been thinking over the past week, and I realized something about the way the characters are leading the story.

I know some people hate it when writers here post these kinds of updates but please bare with me.

These are the general stats related to this story:

Strength (Str): actual physical strength

Intelligence (Int): smarts, problem solving, that kind of stuff

Endurance (End): how long one can perform a tiring activity

Magic/Psynergy (MP/Psy): should be obvious, ability to use these and how well

Constitution (Con): how much pain or damage they can take

Speed (SP): need I explain more?

Willpower (Will): willingness to push on past one's own limits

Now this is how I picture Saito

Str: XX

Int: XX

End: XX

MP:

Con: XXX

SP: XX

Will: XXXX

This is Saito with Gandalfr

Str: XXXXX

Int: XX

End: XXXXX

MP:

Con: XXXXX

SP: XXXXX

Will: XXXX

This is Kiero

Str: X

Int: XXXX

End: X

Psy: XXXXX

Con: X

SP: XX

Will: XXXXX

This is Kiero when using Psy to enforce his body during the fights

Str: XXX

Int: XXXX

End: XX

Psy: XX

Con: XX

SP: XXX

Will: XXXXX

Now (the point I'm trying to make) this is Kiero with re-enforcement and Gandalfr

Str: XXXXXX

Int: XXXX

End: XXXXX

Psy: XX

Con: XXXX

SP: XXXXXX

Will: XXXXX

You see how OP this is becoming; the combination of powers makes a huge difference.

Now if we consider the fact that eventually he may become Tifa's familiar as well…

I am reluctant to write about OP characters, the fights are no fun and one sided.

Boring

Boring

Boring

I'm trying to find a way to write around this…

Well… I found one, but it's just a matter of writing it into the story somehow.

Any reviews, tips or suggestions let me know, I'll post a chapter tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Blegh

6/18/13:

Dear Readers,

Sorry guys, work here is so busy that i can't find any time to write let alone update.

When I do get weekends off there's this little annoying called family time that the people back home demand

Don't get me wrong, I WILL CONTINUE TO WRITE THIS STORY.

That's a promise.

Sincerely,

Blegh

6/22/13:

Dear Readers,

I went to JaFax today, it was my first Anime Convention!

Me and three other friends went, next time I need to cosplay.

I walked through the entire Convention 3 times looking for Zero no Tsukaima...

And I found it!

1 DVD: ZnT Season 1

To me this was a big deal, because that means that ZnT is on its way to the US.

After the Convention closed we went to a nearby McDonald's, where my friends told jokes until I threw up from laughing to hard.

And that was my day.

Sincerely,

Blegh

Dear Readers,

Good news for the few people who actually stuck around to read the junk above.

There is only three weeks left before i'm back full time.

I've learned that unless i'm fully devoted to something I can't do it.

Give my all, or none at all... so cheesy.

So I should be back and the updates can begin once more.

Hopefully I can get this story done before College starts, because once it does...

I doubt I'll ever find time to focus on this.

Other than that, I'll see you all later!

Sincerely,

Blegh


	10. Chapter 9

**Finally! I'm free!**

**After a long summer I am free from camp work. And now i'm back.**

**Yeah... with only a week before college starts...**

**So anyway, another chapter.**

* * *

"Pri-Princess?" Louise gasped.

"What's the matter?" she asked, running over to the Princess.

"I came here to ask you and Mr. Kiero a confidential and urgent favor" the Princess said, clasping Louise's hands in her own.

She had a worried look on her face.

"Confidential?" Kiero asked.

"Yes," said the Princess as she walked over to sit on Louise's bed, "I have decided to marry the Germanian Royalty."

"What did you say?" Louise asked surprised, "Of all people, that country with those barbaric stuck ups?"

"Princess…" Kiero whispered, both girls turned to look at him.

"Marriage is something that should be done for love, not for some political gain. Reconsider" he said, his voice sounding dark.

"It cannot be helped" the Princess said.

"Reconsider Princess!" Kiero suddenly burst out, "Political marriages mock everything a marriage stands for! To marry for power gain is inexcusable, why can't you understand that?! What could be so desirable that you would trade your life and body to a stranger to get?! Well Princess, what is it?! Why would you stoop to such a pathetic le-"

Suddenly the Princess slapped him; she had a very angry look on her face.

Louise stood there shocked, both of her friends looked ready to tear each other's throats out.

Glaring at Kiero, the Princess continued "To protect our small country Toristien, we need to establish a strong alliance with Germania. It is you who doesn't understand, this is not a marriage for power. It is to protect my people, for them I would gladly give this body… and my life. That is the Noble's way."

Both were quite for a moment.

Kiero clenched his fists, "Use me" he growled.

Now the Princess looked surprised.

"Use you?" she asked.

"Yes, use me. I'm sure by now that the headmaster has told you about me… and my past, if not then the Count Mott incident or even Fouquet would prove it just as much. I have power, this disgusting curse that everyone wants so much. Well that's fine by me, so use me for your selfish desires; I don't care what, just don't go through with this unnecessary marriage."

The Princess was quiet for a few moments.

"So you were the one behind the capture of Fouquet… and the incident with Count Mott? I have not heard of this, it was never reported to the Royal Court; I'll have to look into that. Anyway, you say you have power… that you'd do anything to protect Tristain and her people, do you mean that?"

"Every word of it."

After thinking something over the Princess continued, "I would like you to retrieve something."

Now Louise spoke up, "Your Highness, whatever it is we will retrieve it."

"Thank you Louise Françoise. It is a letter I have given to the Prince of Wales of the Albion Kingdom."

"Albion?" Louise asked.

"What kind of letter?" Kiero asked suspiciously.

"It is a letter discussing Tristain's defenses. Albion is in political unrest and is in a dangerous state" explained the Princess.

"I've heard the Nobles have rebelled and even now, the Royalty is about to fall" Louise said.

"Forgive me, to ask you, my two best friends, such a task like this" the Princess said, turning around her back to them, "But right now, the only people I can turn towards are you two…"

She began to cry.

'_That seems a little too emotional for military plans…' _Kiero thought.

Seeing that the Princess was on the edge of tears Louise ran over to her and knelt on the floor.

"Thank you, Your Highness" she said.

'_She bought that?'_

"Louise Françoise…" the Princess said, turning to face Louise.

"To ask us such an important task, brings me happiness above all else" Louise went on.

"Louise… so you will hear me out?" the Princess asked.

"… … … … …"

"Huh?" Kiero said, turning to look at the door.

He noticed that it was slightly ajar.

'_Is there someone eavesdropping?'_

"… _**Pr… … …"**_

'_Someone is definitely listening in on us'_

Kiero walked over to the door to the confused looks of both the Princess and Louise.

When he reached the door he opened it, and Guiche unceremoniously fell into the room.

"Guiche?!" Louise gasped.

"Called it" Kiero mumbled, "So tell us Guiche, why were you spying on us?"

Guiche climbed up off the ground and walked straight over to the Princess, completely ignoring Kiero; to which he received an angry glare from said person.

Kneeling, Guiche spoke "I have heard the entire ordeal."

"Yeah, we know that. Thanks for pointing out the obvious" Kiero scoffed.

Louise almost giggled at that.

"Please allow me, Guiche Gramont, to assist."

Kiero and Louise looked at the Princess, both hoping she'd decline.

"Gramont?" she asked surprised.

'_No…' _Both Kiero and Louise thought.

"Could it be that you are Admiral Gramont's…"

'_No, no, no…'_

"I am his son" Guiche said matter-of-factly, oblivious of the hot glares Kiero and Louise were sending his way.

"You too will lend me your strength?" the Princess asked, her face filling with hope.

'_NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NOOOOOOO!'_

"I feel so grateful, to have the three of you willing to help me. Very well, the three of you, please travel to Albion and retrieve those military plans. Please do this for not just me, but for all of Tristain."

"Gladly" Guiche responded, Kiero and Louise too shocked to say anything.

"Here Louise, take this" she said, taking a ring off her finger and giving it to Louise.

"This is a Water Ruby that my mother gave to me. Right now, this is all I can reward you with. I must now take my leave, I will send you a guide for your journey" the Princess said, climbing out the window and once again disappearing into the night.

Guiche then turned toward them.

"So, shall we get planning?"

"I have a sudden need to go wash things" Kiero said, leaving the room quickly.

"M-Me too" Louise said, following.

As soon as they were out of sight of Guiche they ran for it, they didn't stop until they reached the courtyard.

They sat panting next to each other by one of the fountains.

"Why did the Princess allow Guiche to come?" Louise whined.

"Yeah, that guy has been nothing but useless" Kiero agreed.

"Wait, he's not useless" Louise said.

Kiero looked at her confused.

"He's _flamboyantly_ useless" she finished, raising a finger matter-of-factly.

They both broke into a fit of laughter that lasted several minutes.

When they finally calmed down Kiero patted Louise on the head.

"That was a good one Louise" he said.

Louise looked down as she blushed.

"Excuse me" they heard someone say.

They looked over to see Siesta walking over to them.

"Siesta?" Louise asked.

Siesta suddenly bowed towards Kiero, "I'm sorry, my behavior when you were washing clothes was unforgivable. I must have offended you…" she said dejectedly.

Looking at her with an annoyed look, he responded "Look Siesta, I don't hold anything against you for it; but I'm just not interested in you. You might have feelings for me but I don't return those feelings."

'_W-Wait, what are they talking about? _Louise thought, _What behavior? Feelings? Did that maid make a move on him?!'_

"But I thought… when you came to save me at Count Mott's…" Siesta tried to explain.

"I came to help you because you are my friend, nothing more. The situation just escalated when I saw what was going on there."

"I see" she said disappointed, "I leave you two then."

Siesta gave another bow then left.

Louise turned an angry glare at Kiero, "What was she talking about?" she asked.

"A couple days ago, right about the time you drank that love potion, Siesta came to me when I was washing your clothes. When I was explaining how hot water is better for washing she fell into the tub of water, instead of going to dry off she started undressing in front of me. I don't have any feelings for her so I left" he explained.

Looking at the ground, Louise said "I see… so that's what happened. That night, I went looking for you."

"Hmm?"

"I saw you and that maid together, and then she began to undress. I thought… I thought that you two met there secretly. I was confused and angry so I ran, along the way I grabbed a glass of wine that Guiche had and drank it. It must have had the potion in it."

"Ah, so that's how that mess started, it was all a misunderstanding. Well, in the end everything turned out for the better. Hopefully Siesta will leave me alone about her feelings."

Kiero then stood up.

"It's getting late Louise, let's get some sleep" he said, offering a hand to Louise.

She blushed as she took his hand, him helping her up.

'_Thank goodness it's dark out_ _or he would see me blush'_

They walked back to Louise's room.

When they got there Louise changed into her night gown, making Kiero look the other way.

She then sat on her bed, looking troubled.

"When I can't even use magic properly, to take on such an important task," she said, "I wonder if someone like me can do this."

Kiero let out a sigh.

"Louise" he said, "You are stronger than you think, you just haven't found the right… spark is all. Besides, that's why I'm here isn't it? To protect you?"

"You're lucky that you're so easy-going" she said, crawling under the sheets.

After a while she fell asleep.

Kiero put out the lamps and the room darkened.

As he lay on his pile of hay he thought about Louise.

'_Maybe she really does have Void magic… lately I've begun to feel a very powerful aura around her. Why am I able to feel it, from what I remember feeling auras was a Telepathic power; I shouldn't be able to do that'_

He raised his left hand above him, looking at the Gandalfr runes.

'_Just what else to these runes do?'_

* * *

Early the next day the four of them, Louise, Kiero, Derf and Guiche, stood at the Academy gate, the morning fog hadn't even cleared yet.

Sitting on horses they waited.

Louise looked at the ring the Princess gave her.

It was made of silver with a beautiful blue gem in it.

"I would expect that escort person to arrive any time now" she said to the others.

The ground before her began to bulge.

"What's this?" she asked when she noticed it.

Suddenly, Guiche's mole popped up from the soil.

Louise looked at the mole surprised.

"Belldandy!" Guiche gasped, jumping off his horse and running over to his mole in a very girlish manner and embracing it.

"Ah, my sweet Belldandy!" he said as he began to rub his cheek against the mole, "Because I went to the lake without saying anything to you last time, you've must have thought I'd leave you behind again. How adorable you are!"

"Let me tell you that we cannot take your familiar with us" Louise said as she and Kiero walked up to Guiche.

The mole then crawled over to Louise.

"What?" she asked, looking at the mole.

Suddenly it lunged at her, burying her under its weight.

"Hey! Where do you think you're touching?" she yelled at the mole, "Kiero!"

Kiero ran over and began help push Belldandy off of Louise.

'_Come on, please don't make me waste psynergy on you, you stupid mole'_ he thought.

Meanwhile, Guiche stood by smirching.

"I see, it's the ring" Guiche said.

"You're kidding right?!" Louise and Kiero yelled at the same time.

"Belldandy loves jewelry" Guiche continued, "She especially has a keen sense for rarities."

"I will not allow this precious ring I received from the Princess to be eaten by a mole!" Louise screamed, "Anyway, help me!"

Kiero kept shoving, but the mole wouldn't budge more than an inch.

'_Damn, looks like I will have to use psynergy'_

"_**W… … d… …"**_

Kiero looked up just in time to see a whirlwind heading for them.

The gush of air blasted the mole off of Louise and would have launched Kiero as well if he hadn't anchored himself to the ground.

Guiche's mole rolled across the ground, eventually landing on its back, completely out of it.

"Belldandy!" Guiche cried, drawing his wand, "Who did that?"

The three of them looked around, but saw no one.

Then they heard the flapping of wings from above.

Looking up they saw a griffin descending from the fog.

On its back rode a man wearing a long cape and a wide brimmed hat.

The griffin landed a few feet in front of them.

"A Griffin?" Guiche said, stating the obvious.

"Wh-Who are you?" he questioned, pointing his wand at the man.

The man jumped down from the griffin and raised the brim of his hat, revealing his face.

'_Wait, that's the man from before. The guy from the festival that Louise was staring at… just who is this guy?'_ Kiero thought.

"Henrietta has ordered me to accompany you. My name is Ward, Captain of the Griffin Squadron" the man answered.

"Ah!" Louise gasped, "You are!"

"That famous Magic Knight?" Guiche asked, surprised.

"Louise" Ward called.

"Hm?" Kiero murmured under his breath, curious as to why Ward had singled her out.

Ward walked over to Louise and took hold of her hands.

"I'm sorry I surprised you" he said, "But I thought my fiancée was being attacked."

Kiero narrowed his eyes.

_Her too_ he thought.

"You're joking…" Guiche stuttered.

Ward then picked Louise up bridal style.

"You're as light as ever. Just like a feather" he said.

Louise looked away, blushing.

"It has been a long time, Ward" she said.

"And that time has only added to your beauty, Louise" he then turned to Kiero and Guiche, "Well then, let us be off. We have a long journey ahead of us and it will take all day to reach our first stop."

Ward then carried Louise to his griffin while Kiero and Guiche climbed onto their horses.

Kiero began their journey in silence, and for most of the day he remained silent.

He rode his horse, looking ahead at Louise sitting in Ward's lap on his Griffin.

He was trying to figure this whole situation out.

Louise has a fiancée, and she never told him.

She let him go on about how much he was against arranged marriages, and even agreed with him when they learned of the Princess's, and now her she was in an arranged engagement anyway.

'_Is there anything else she neglected to tell me?'_ He thought.

'_I owe her my life and she sees fit to not tell me these kinds of things…'_

'_How can I trust her then, if she won't trust me.'_

'_And what about this Ward guy, who is he?'_

'_Why is he engaged to Louise, and why such an age difference.'_

'_And what's the point in showing up now to court her, it seems a little too coincidental that the guide the Princess sent us is also Louise fiancée…'_

'_Aaaargh! This is all getting on my nerves!'_

* * *

Over the day Louise and Ward would talk quietly to themselves so Kiero and Guiche couldn't hear.

The whole while Kiero watched Louise, every once and a while she would glance back and their eyes would lock; until Ward said something to Louise, causing her to look away from him and blush.

Guiche decided to take this time to say something.

"The Elite of the Elites. For that Griffin Squad Captain to escort us… is nothing more than inspirational!"

"Honestly, I think it's a little strange" Kiero replied.

"What, how so?"

"Think about it, we're off to gather secret intelligence in a country full of possibly hostile forces. Wouldn't it be better if we didn't have such a famous person guiding us. So we didn't stick out as much, our actions remaining unknown to others being the better strategy."

"While that may be true Kiero, I believe having Captain Ward at our side will help deter any who would target us. No one would even consider going against an Elite Captain such as Ward."

"But don't you find it a bit suspicious that the guide the Princess sent us is also Louise fiancée?"

"I think it is a wonderful opportunity for them to catch up on their engagement. I believe that after this mission a wedding will soon follow, though I do feel sorry for you. You might have had a chance with her until Captain Ward arrived."

'_Great, so Guiche is completely oblivious. Looks like I'm the only one who finds this situation suspicious. I might just be over reacting to Louise having a fiancée, but I just can't shake this feeling that something is off here'._

'_What is it?!'_

Louise was still surprised that she was in the arms of her fiancée, even after half the day of being there had passed.

"I was surprised as I did not know that you would be coming" she said to Ward.

Without looking from the road Ward answered, "We couldn't use the Griffin Squad for such a mission," he then looked down at Louise, "when I heard about the letter incident, I volunteered to be an escort."

"You volunteered yourself?" Louise asked, both surprised and curious.

"Of course. As soon as I heard your name, there is no way I will sit there silently."

"Ward" Louise sighed.

She then glanced back at Kiero.

He was still watching her, as he had been all day.

She knew what he must be thinking; he said himself how much he despised arranged marriages and those who partook of them. He had the right to hate her, but that's not what bothered her.

It was that, every time she looked back she expected him to be looking at her with hate or disgust.

Instead, she found the same unjudging stare looking back at her.

It was disturbing how little emotion he was showing when compared to how he acted with the Princess.

"What's the matter?" Ward asked, breaking her from her trance.

"No, nothing" she said, turning back to face him.

'_Why do I have to be stuck in this situation?'_ she thought.

Later that afternoon Kiero was examining his surroundings.

'_I know that being in a magical world I should expect anything, but it still wouldn't hurt to ask'_

"Hey Guiche."

"Yes, what is it?"

"If we're supposed to be in a port town by tonight, why are we into the mountains?"

"You know nothing at all, do you?"

"Based on what I've seen of this world's technology, the only way to get a ship up here is if they could fly."

"As a matter of fact they do, didn't you know that?"

"No, I didn't. That's why I asked moron."

Then he noticed that Louise was looking at him again.

She had a worried look on her face, but quickly tried to look away and hide it when she saw him look back at her.

They needed to talk.

"Ah, we can see it now" Guiche said, "That is the port town, La Rochelle."

True enough, through the gaps in the mountains that could see a mass of stone buildings.

The sun was beginning to set when they entered the town.

As they made their way to find an inn to stay at, Kiero looked around.

Ward and his Griffin were attracting a lot of attention from the citizens.

'_This is what I was trying to say, Ward just sticks out too much.'_

Eventually they found an inn to stay at.

Ward climbed down from his Griffin and gently set Louise on her feet.

Then he turned to Kiero and Guiche, "We will stay here the night and depart tomarrow. Will that do?" he asked.

"I understand, Mr Ward" Guiche called, while Kiero only nodded.

"Kiero, say something at least. It's rude" Louise told him.

"It's okay Louise" Ward said, "I don't like to breathe my Noble presence.

'_So says the one who decided to ride a Griffin threw town.'_ Kiero thought as he unloaded the gear he and Louise brought.

Just as he was finishing Louise walked over to him.

'_Good, now we might be able to talk.'_

"Just to let you know, even though he says 'fiancée', that's what my parents decided."

"I know what an arranged marriage is, and after hearing what I had to say to the Princess you decided not to tell me."

"Well it's just…"

"Just what? You used to say that a familiar must always trust their master. Trust goes both ways Louise, and right now I'm not feeling it."

"…are you mad?" Louise asked quietly.

Kiero was quite, his silence making Louise worry even more.

Finally, as Louise was about to ask again he answered.

"I'm not mad at you, but neither do I forgive you for not telling me. Besides, Ward doesn't seem like the kind who would arrange marriages for power gain."

"Of course not, I admired him ever since I was a child. He lost his parents early and went through many hardships to become the Captain of the Magic Knights. Unlike someone like you…"

She stopped when she realized what she said.

Kiero turned to look at her, his eyes now glaring at her.

"My parents were killed right in front of me when I was seven, Louise. At the same time I was injured to the brink of death trying to protect my newborn sister. After that I had to live everyday knowing that I wasn't strong enough. So don't you dare come to me and tell me that I haven't gone through hardships, Louise."

With that he stormed off into the inn.

Louise wanted to go after him but she couldn't face him after what she had said.

'_Ward lost his parents, but he had their entire fortune and estate to support him. Kiero is a commoner, he had nothing. Not only that but he watched his parents and his sister die… it must be terrible to have to live life knowing that…'_

She felt like a terrible person for saying what she did.

Suddenly, Derf, who had been sitting quietly in his sheath where Kiero had set him down, popped out of his sheath.

"Woah, Partner has quite the history. So Shorty, what're you going to do? Go after Kiero, whom you have a crush on and apologize. Or follow Ward whom you are engaged to and have admired your whole life."

"I-I do not have a crush on Kiero!"

Derf remained knowingly silent.

"I don't… he's just a…"

What was Kiero to her? And what was she to Kiero?

* * *

That night

"Louise still hasn't come down?" Ward asked.

They were sitting around one of the tables provided by the inn for meals.

All of them… except Louise.

She had stayed in her room since they had arrived, letting no one in her room, not even Ward.

She had shut him out as soon as they had their rooms, effectively forcing him to go rent another room for himself.

Sighing to himself, Ward looked down at his two companions.

That Academy student… Guiche was it? He was busy stuffing his face with food.

From what he'd heard Guiche was the son of General Gramont, but lacked all of his father's tactical thinking and magical skill.

On the other hand… Kiero.

That boy was altogether a mystery.

From what he was told this boy was not only Gandalf but also wielded a strange power that could lead to burst of massive uncontrolled power, though the cause for these bursts is still unknown.

His mission is to learn more about this boy, as well as… other things.

And what better way to learn about him and his power than a duel?

But he couldn't just come forward and ask for a duel, no that would be too suspicious.

Somehow he would have to get Kiero to ask him for a duel, but how would he-

"Hey Ward" Kiero suddenly asked him.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Tomorrow morning, could we have a duel?"

…oh, that was easier that he expected, and kind of creepy.

"Uh… sure."

"Good, look, I'm going to be honest. I don't like you, every noble I've met so far has been full of themselves with only their wealth to back them up. You may be a top notch captain, but I'd like to test you myself before putting my trust in what others say. No offense."

"None taken, I was wondering myself how strong you were. I've heard that you and young Mr. Gramont here dueled."

Guiche suddenly began choking on his own food.

Looks like he still hasn't gotten over the loss.

"That was…" he managed to say after getting over his coughing fit.

"Kiero, is it true that you beat him using only your hands?"

"More or less."

"Is it also true that you used the Staff of Destruction to capture Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt?"

"That one is actually false, the… staff… missed. After that…"

Kiero was quiet for a time, he seemed confused about something.

"Yeah, Fouquet was caught" he continued, suddenly looking at him suspiciously, "You know, you seem to know a lot about me."

"Because of my position, I hear all sorts of detailed information."

Crap, he was pressing too hard. Better end the conversation for now.

"Shall we go back to our rooms now?" he stated more than asked, standing up and heading off up the stairs to the rooms.

Before heading to his own room, however, he made a stop by Louise's room.

Knocking on the door he called for her.

"Louise? Louise, please open the door."

No answer.

"I have something important to discuss with you Louise, so please open the door."

Still no answer.

It seemed that this was a futile effort.

Damn, this set his schedule behind.

* * *

After Ward left Kiero dug into his food.

"What's with the change in appetite, trying to impress the Viscount with your dining etiquette?"

"No, something about him bothers me, and it ruins my appetite. Now that he's gone I'm hungery."

"That's no way to treat a noble such as the Viscount."

Kiero finish cleaning his plate and stood up to leave as well.

"Don't care" he said.

He had more important things on his mind.

When Ward was still at the table with them he thought he heard something.

No, he definitely heard something, and it wasn't his own voice.

Something… in his mind… was trying to say something.

But what he couldn't tell, he just had this feeling that Ward wanted to duel with him.

And so he asked Ward himself, he was curious too as to how strong Ward was.

As Kiero pondered over these things he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.

Looking over he saw Ward standing outside of Louise's room, looked like he wasn't having any luck getting her to come out.

Damn, now he felt bad for yelling at her earlier.

Figuring he better apologize he waited for Ward to leave.

Once he was sure Ward was gone he walked up to the door.

Unsure of how to apologize he stood there awkwardly.

Figuring he'd just wing it he raised his hand to knock.

Suddenly the door burst open and Louise almost ran into him.

"Ward, wait!" she called.

Oh.

Realizing what she said and who was standing in front of her, Louise panicked.

"K-Kiero, I was- I thought- You- Ward- I-I" she stammered.

_I see, she was looking for Ward. Not me… _he thought, _I guess now isn't the time to apologize._

Closing his eyes, Kiero sighed and turned to leave.

* * *

After the incident when they first arrived, Louise had locked herself in her room. She was currently lying on the bed curled in a ball and hugging a pillow.

She just couldn't get her mind straight.

Sure she was engaged to Ward, and had always looked up to him.

But she hadn't seen him in many years.

All that and, as she was now beginning to realize, she was beginning to like a certain familiar.

Yeah her father would disapprove of Kiero, he was rude, seemed self centered. Not to mention a complete disregard for nobility and status.

And yet… it was that same roughish attitude that attracted her.

Somehow it was fresh, something she had never experienced before.

At first it was annoying, how could someone completely ignore her status as a daughter of one of the most powerful and influential families in all of Tristain? She thought, hugging the pillow tighter.

But after the incident with Fouquet she began to look at it differently, and realized something.

He wasn't disregarding her for her nobility, but actually seeing her for her personality.

Nobility meant nothing to him, what mattered was who you were.

It was so outrageous yet kind.

And so, she realized that she began to like him.

But now Ward was back, reminding her of the one damning fact that presided over everything.

She was a Noble and Kiero was just a commoner.

What she was feeling for him was forbidden and would never, could never, happen.

It was better for her and her family if she married Ward; then her family wouldn't treat her like a failure.

And that's what she always wanted, to be accepted by those around her despite her complete failure at magic.

_It wouldn't be all bad_. She told herself. _Ward is a nice man, many others respect him. Any woman would die for the chance to be in my position. I should feel lucky._

At this time a knock came from the door, Louise was so deep in thought, however, that at first she didn't notice.

When she did come out of her thought induced trace she remembered hearing Ward's voice.

Did he come to see her? What did he want?

Thinking that she should open the door before Ward thought she was ignoring him, she jumped up and ran for the door.

Hopefully he hadn't left yet.

She unlocked the door and opened it.

"Ward, wait!" she called.

Her voice caught in her throat when she saw Kiero, not Ward, standing at the door.

But she was certain she heard Ward's voice at the door.

Oh no.

Now what would he think, her calling for Ward like that.

She had yet to figure things out and this wasn't how she wanted things to be resolved.

She could see the disappointment in his eyes as he took in what she said.

"K-Kiero, I was- I thought- You- Ward- I-I" she tried to explain.

Closing his eyes, Kiero sighed and turned to leave.

What could she say, what should she say? It was just a misunderstanding, right? So she should say something to him to clear it all up, then she could… but he was a commoner, and Ward was… and Ward was… but Kiero…

…

He was gone. And she was left standing there.

_Oh Founder, what should I do?_

* * *

The next morning Kiero and Ward stood in the middle of a small abandoned courtyard they found in the inn. It looked to be used for storage, with barrels and crates stacked throughout.

They had decided to bring along Guiche as Observer, neither of them wanted to wake Louise.

Not that they could, she had relocked the door and wouldn't answer.

Feeling ready Ward called out "Then shall we begin, Kiero?"

"Yes" Kiero answered.

"You may have beat me, but your tricks won't work on Captain Ward, Kiero. You'd better be careful if you want to last" Guiche said from behind him.

"Quiet, I know that" he said.

"Being a Noble is a burden" Ward said, "One can't help but wonder if he is stronger or weaker than the other." Bowing his head Ward continued, "I thank you for this opportunity."

Readying his Combat Wand, Ward waited for Kiero to also draw his blade. However, when all he did was stand there Ward looked confused.

"Are you going to draw your blade or have you changed your mind?"

Kiero smirked at him. He preferred to fight without a weapon, but that didn't mean he would tell Ward. So he decided to have some fun.

"Sorry, I just don't feel that you would provide enough of a challenge if I used a sword."

Ward glared at him.

"Care to prove me wrong?" Kiero further teased.

Now Ward took the Offensive, dashing forward and dealing a basic slash with several follow up slashes and thrusts. Ward was convinced that he would land a hit on him; only a swordsman of decent level could predict and dodge them all. That and Kiero hadn't drawn his weapon, what was Gandalfr without a weapon.

Not surprisingly Kiero dodged the first slash, but as each consecutive slash and thrust missed Ward began to see that Kiero wasn't just teasing him, he was serious.

'_Very well then' _Ward thought.

Ward increased his speed and began executing more complicated attacks.

Yet, he still couldn't hit Kiero.

_This Gandalfr it strong, despite not wielding a weapon, _Ward thought; then he noticed something that Kiero didn't. _But he neglects his surroundings._

Ward's next grouping of attacks pushed Kiero backwards, though none of them hit.

Kiero was just starting to get suspicious of Ward's change in attack pattern when his legs hit something.

Looking back he saw a barrel lying on its side.

_Shit!_ He thought, turning to face Ward just in time to see his combat wand going for his head.

Doing the only thing he could Kiero jerked his head backwards, dodging the attack but losing his balance over the barrel. Falling backwards, Kiero watch as Ward went for an overhead strike, one that he couldn't dodge.

The ring of steel on steel echoed throughout the courtyard.

Ward's Combat Wand on Derflinger, Gandalfr runes glowing.

Ward smiled down at Kiero, "Looks like I made you draw your weapon" he said.

Withdrawing his weapon Ward offered a hand to Kiero.

"Ha, yeah, I suppose you did" Kiero said, taking the offered hand.

Once he was back on his feet Ward jumped back, weapon back at the ready.

"Round 2?" Ward asked.

Raising Derflinger, Kiero smiled "Yeah, sure thing."

This time both of them dashed forward. Ward coming in low with his weapon drawn back for a thrust, Kiero coming in high with Derflinger held behind him ready for a slash.

* * *

Louise was having a dream, such a wonderful dream from her memories.

She was six again, sitting alone in a boat in the middle of a small lake her father owned. This was where she used to hide when her family would chastise her.

She was crying, her father had been especially harsh this time.

Then a soothing voice reached her ears. "Are you crying, Milady?" it said.

Looking up she saw a young man, silver gray hair falling down his back, a kind look on his face.

This was Ward, a younger version of him from about the time their parents arranged their marriage.

"Ward, you were here?" she asked.

"You were again scolded by your father?" Ward asked her, smiling.

Louise looked down embarrassed, tears still in her eyes.

"Come here," Ward said, offering a hand to her, "I will calm your father."

Louise looked back up at him questionably.

"It will be all right. I'll be by your side" Ward reassured her.

Louise smiled. Ward had always been there for her when her family was giving her a hard time.

Still smiling Louise reached for the hand.

*Clang*

A sharp noise rang out through her dream, and like a stone in water her entire dream rippled and shook.

Louise looked around confused.

_***Clang***_

The noise came again, everything around her distorted. Louise began to fall, fall out of her dream and into an overwhelming darkness, but strangely she felt like she was rising.

_***Clang***_

Louise woke with a start at the noise this time. She was again sixteen and in a bed at an inn and not in a boat.

She looked around confused, trying to locate the sound.

_***Clang***_

Louise looked over at the window, the noise had come from outside.

Getting up she crept over to the window, slowly drawing back the curtain and peering outside.

Down in the courtyard below she could see Ward and Kiero crossing blades.

_Those idiots! What do they think they're doing?_ She thought.

Quickly getting dressed Louise dashed out of the room and down the stairs.

She needed to stop those two before someone got hurt.

* * *

To be honest he was surprised with himself.

Kiero knew that Ward was an experienced swordsman and yet, just by trusting his instincts, he was parrying most of Ward's attacks. Sometimes he was even able to turn the tide and take the offensive.

They were now in their 7th round of dueling, you could say that their "score" was tied. Their swords clashing together over and over again.

Ward had refrained from using magic (offensively that is, he was using some to speed his movements), the same as how Kiero was refraining from using psynergy (offensively that is, he was using some to speed his movements).

The bonus from the Gandalfr runes just couldn't quite keep up with Ward.

"Your sure are quick, as expected from Gandalfr" Ward commented, "However, if this is your limit then I am surely disappointed."

Just as he finished saying this Ward disappeared from Kiero's sight.

_What?!_ Kiero thought, panicking.

Thinking quickly he put up a barrier around himself, just in time too as immediately a clang was heard from behind him.

Looking over his shoulder he saw Ward for an instant, as surprised look on his face before he disappeared again.

This time clangs could be heard all around him, each time Ward would appear for a second, strike, and disappear again.

This was putting a tremendous strain on Kiero's mind. Ward was using strong attacks now, obviously trying to break the barrier. Each hit would probably break bone if it hit.

Finally Kiero could hold the barrier no longer and felt it collapse. Now he waited for Ward's next strike. By sheer luck he was facing the direction Ward chose next to attack from.

When he appeared Kiero brought up Derflinger, and putting all his weight behind it he blocked Ward's swing. Even so he was pushed back a foot.

_To think, he has all this strength and yet still he can go so fast!_

_What should I do now? I can barely use psynergy, by myself I can't keep up this pace even with Gandalfr powers. Damn, what should I do? What should I do?! Emma always had a plan! She could do this, I should too. But I can't- I can't- I can't-_

"_**She Dead!"**_

* * *

Ward was surprised when his surprise attack hit something solid before it ever reached Kiero.

Like an invisible wall… so this was his mysterious power that the reports told of.

The best way to test this new power at the moment was to see how long it could last. So he stuck hard, and he struck fast. Repeatedly, over and over again, yet the wall held steadfast.

This would be a convenient power indeed, and absolute defense. But this couldn't be how he defeated Fouquet. If this was all he could do, even assuming it could be used offensively, there was no way this could smash her Golem to pieces.

As Ward was thinking this one of his attacks unexpectedly hit nothing and continued to collide with Derflingr.

Just by looking at him Ward could tell Kiero was tired. His breathing was eratic and his eyes were flickering…

Wait, flickering?

As Ward watched Kiero's eyes were flickering, phasing between their dull green to almost glowing emerald.

What was this? Did this kid have something else up his sleeve? Was this his secret for defeating Fouquet? If that was the case then he would find out what it was.

Ward began to press harder, he could feel Kiero's arms begin to buckle.

"Stop fighting this instant!" Louise yelled as she suddenly burst into the courtyard.

Ward turned to look when he heard a loud ***Thunk***.

Seeing Louise look shocked Ward turned and looked to see his weapon on Kiero's head. His strength finally giving out he could no longer keep Derflingr up, allowing Ward's weapon to strike his head.

As Ward watched Kiero turned his head to look at Louise, his eyes fading back to dull green. A stupid grin spread itself across his face; then Ward noticed his eyes were glazed.

Kiero then fell on his face, unconscious.

Louise ran over and began shaking Kiero to no avail while shouting his name.

"Kiero! Kiero! Wake up you idiot! This is what you get for fighting him!"

Ward, for all his seriousness, couldn't help but find the scene before him rather comical.

* * *

**Dear Readers,**

**I do believe that this is my longest chapter.**

**I also would like to apologize for the incredibly long update time.**

**As i said, camp, no internet, blah blah blah.**

**Anyway, expect the next chapter soon.**

**And be sure to leave reviews, tips, suggestions, and questions.**

**Sincerely,**

**Blegh**


	11. Update 2

**Dear readers,**

**I've been wondering why I am having so much difficulty writing for Zero no Esper lately.**

**I've come to realize that this is because of my writing style.**

**My writing style is that I follow the characters, that they are living entities within my mind.**

**Each with a will of their own.**

**For those of you more focused on reality, which I doubt seeing as you're reading fanfiction of anime for your spare time.**

**You could say that most, if not all, of my writing capabilities are based on inspiration.**

**What I'm trying to say is this.**

**My Characters/Inspiration has moved on to another story.**

**If I want to continue practicing my writing capabilities I need to follow them/it.**

**This does not mean that I'm giving up on Zero no Esper, I am 100% certain that my Characters/Inspiration will come back to this story.**

**The story they/it are/is weaving for me seems to be one that takes place directly after this one.**

**If you'd like me to post the chapters for that one now or if you'd rather I hang onto the material for when I finish Zero no Esper please let me know.**

**That is all for now.**

**Sincerely,**

**Blegh**


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